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Research Initiative: Increasing Engagement of Families with Young Children

Emanuel Congregation launched a research initiative to review the possibility of opening their own in-house early childhood program to serve as a pipeline for increased synagogue membership. The congregation engaged Meeting Your Mission to explore the needs of local parents with young children. Through a series of focus groups, interviews, survey tools, and visits to area preschool programs and community parks, Leslie explored the programming and childcare needs of families with children under age five. Quantitative research included a deep dive into neighborhood and population statistics and an insider’s look at local institutions and organizations currently providing programming to this demographic. Four key recommendations were made to the synagogue to assist them in framing out next steps to enhance their engagement of families with young children.

Working with Meeting Your Mission provided us with the insight necessary to create the best action plan possible for our work in engaging families with young children. As a result of Leslie’s key research, we gained great insight into who our families are, what they are looking for, and how Emanuel fits into their lives. Leslie had a great ability to connect with families in a way that encouraged them to speak openly about their wants and needs.

Tani PrellEducation Director, Emanuel Congregation