jBaby Chicago

jBaby Chicago was founded by a new mother to satisfy a craving of new parents for friendship and authentic, quality experiences in the Jewish community. The organization helps Jewish and interfaith expectant and new parents make connections, build community, and engage in Jewish life in Chicago. It has supported more than 1,900 families through sleepless nights, decisions about how to raise their kids Jewishly, changing relationships, and postpartum depression. The jBaby community creates connections and friendships that set the path for families, because as their babies grow and change, so do the interests of these families. In turn, many go on to participate in existing Jewish organizations and develop new Jewish social networks.

All new jBaby parents are welcomed to the community by a trained parent ambassador who meets with them one-on-one and offers guidance, connections, and resources. jBaby’s strategy and programming are driven by the interests and needs of new parents. Currently, jBaby is run primarily by its staff and ambassadors, but parents are involved with planning and executing bundles of joyful programs like playgroups, parent support groups, classes, tot Shabbats, holiday events, and preschool tours. jBaby hosts playgroups and events in locally owned play spaces and uses the assets of Chicago to build its community. It recently seeded 25 new offerings with Chicagoland partners such as JCC Chicago, synagogues, and Jewish preschools. There are now more than 100 new Jewish opportunities that didn’t exist three years ago. This year, jBaby is making an effort to go deeper with Jewish content. It is facilitating parents’ exploration of what being Jewish means to them beyond the desire to do it for their children. True to its Chicago roots, jBaby measures its success by the extent to which new parents find the local Jewish community responsive to their needs and meaningful in their lives. jBaby has birthed a new model when it comes to engaging Jewish parents, setting the stage for more ongoing involvement in Jewish life as a family grows.