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August 2, 2002/Av 24 5762, Vol. 54, No. 46
Standing together
Group connects single parents
LEISAH NAMM
Assistant Editor
Jodie Cooper attends a Diamondbacks game at Bank One Ballpark with daughter Allana and son Cooper.
Photo by Linda Feldman
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Pamela Keller-Hallows is thankful for the new Bureau of Jewish Education program geared toward single parents.
The purpose of "No Shabbos Candle Stands Alone," which debuted in February with a Shabbat dinner and service, "is to support one another as parents raising children alone in the Jewish community," Keller-Hallows says. "We have a unique set of challenges."
One of her favorite aspects of the group is the connection she's made with other mothers.
"We talk about our lives and we talk about raising our children. ... We reach out to each other," she says.
For her son, 11-year-old Forrest Keller-Hallows, the group provides an opportunity to have other boys around. "He kind of looks up to the older boys a bit," she says. "They're like his older brothers - they're good role models for him."
The group, with help from a grant from the Jewish Community Foundation, meets at least monthly, says Linda Feldman, BJE family education coordinator. Past events have included a Diamondbacks game, a trip to the IMAX theater and informational meetings. The mailing list includes about 45 families, but there's a core group of approximately 15 families that attend the events, she says.
Children range in age from babies to teens, and activities rotate among different areas of the Valley to accommodate the participants.
Keller-Hallows says the group gives her "a nice sense of support and community."
"When you get people together with their children, there's an openness and an easiness that's there, and then the children can see that they aren't alone, that there are other children who just have one parent," she says.
"It's never been easy to be a Jew, but I think in today's world, it's particularly difficult," she says. "It's important that the children feel that support and they feel there's a greater sense of community that really cares about them (and) makes an investment in them."
Future events include an ice skating session Aug. 11 at Polar Ice in Phoenix, an Aug. 16 back-to-school Shabbat dinner, a Rosh Hashana potluck dinner and a sukkah gathering.
Call 602-234-1645.
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