‘Discover Jewish Pittsburgh’: A community-led project to welcome newcomers

Rebecca Gruener believes Pittsburgh has a vibrant Jewish community that’s perfect for young families. The problem, she said, is that not enough people know about it and the resources available to prospective newcomers don’t provide enough information.

Gruener said she had friends who participated in the Orthodox Union’s Community Home Relocation Fair, a program that helps Orthodox communities market themselves to potential transfers, before moving.

Communities featured on the OU website dedicated to the fair included Atlanta, Georgia; Boston, Massachusetts; Buffalo Grove, Illinois; Portland, Ohio; and San Antonio, Texas. Pennsylvania was represented by Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and even White Oak, but no Pittsburgh-proper community was listed.

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Moreover, Gruener said, the information the OU provided about Pittsburgh was “outdated and barely updated.”

“I realized that we’re an amazing place to live, we have a lot to offer, and we’re just not advertised enough,” she said.

Pittsburgh, Gruener said, has amenities many families are seeking — a low cost of living, walkable neighborhoods, professional opportunities and a fully realized Jewish infrastructure.

And yet, she said, the city isn’t marketed the way it should be.

“I said, ‘Let’s do something now to try and get the word out, try to attract people to think about Pittsburgh,’” said Gruener, who is mother to two children, ages 3 and 10 months.

The Pittsburgh Jewish community, Gruener noted, isn’t at a crisis point; in fact, she said, it continues to thrive. The Pittsburgh transplant — she moved here in 2016 for graduate school — simply feels now is the time to be proactive.

The result is the website “Discover Jewish Pittsburgh,” created by Gruener and a cadre of volunteers.

Billing itself as a grassroots effort of parents, teachers and community members who love Pittsburgh, the website’s intent is to show that “Pittsburgh is a great place to live as an Orthodox Jew.”

To that end, the site attempts to answer the questions a young family might have before moving to a new city, including information about synagogues, schools, Jewish organizations, kosher establishments and religious resources, such as data about the city’s eruv, mikvahs and even upcoming events.

The site is a work-in-progress, volunteer Brianna Greenstein said.

Like Gruener, Greenstein is a transplant who moved to Pittsburgh six years ago for graduate school, and a mother. She helps update the site and adds new information.

“The original intent was to get people to move here, but at the same time I want to utilize the fact that we now have this great website that showcases Jewish Pittsburgh, so let’s use it as a community resource,” she said.

They even created a video, featured on the site, highlighting the city and the wider Jewish community.

To that end, “Discover Jewish Pittsburgh” has already expanded its content to include a kosher bakery in East Liberty and Reform congregations in the South Hills and North Hills.

The goal, Greenstein said, is to list all things Jewish, but she’s also clear that “the priority is Orthodox Judaism.”

In fact, it was the focus on Orthodox Judaism that allowed the site to be created.

Gruener said the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh provided a Community Priority Grant and Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh is the site’s fiscal sponsor.

Shelly Parver, associate director of planning and impact at Federation, said the website, originally called “Promote Pittsburgh,” was attractive because it targeted young adult engagement and was “creative and future-focused.”

“They did their homework and have designed something that is engaging for the community that they’re hoping to attract,” she said. “I’m really hopeful that they’re going to be able to fulfill their goal of bringing more people from the community to Pittsburgh. We want more people from all over to come to Pittsburgh because it’s a wonderful place to raise a family.”

The website has already garnered attention locally, and both Gruener and Greenstein are working to ensure families know about it beyond the city’s boundaries.

“We’ve been posting it online,” Greenstein said. “There’s this group ‘Move to a Jewish Community Out of Town,’ that people post to if they’re interested in finding out about other communities they’ve never heard of. I posted the video we made and the link. I immediately got people reaching out.”

Those interested in learning more about Pittsburgh and its Jewish community can reach out through the website’s contact page.

“As their responses come in, we’re going to pair them with people from the community who we think would be well suited to talk to them about Pittsburgh, their experience and answer their questions. Hopefully they’ll come to the city for a visit,” Gruener said.

She hopes to use some of the grant money provided by Federation to help pay for people to visit the city.

“It would be amazing if we could get them all in on the same weekend for a Shabbaton,” she said.

As the site continues to grow, Gruener said she hopes people already in Pittsburgh will reach out to volunteer and to share information that can be included in “Discover Jewish Pittsburgh.” They can do so through the site’s contact page. In the meantime, she’s happy to have the outlet to showcase what she’s learned since moving here.

“It’s a warm and welcoming Orthodox community,” she said, “but honestly, one of my favorite things about Pittsburgh is how all the different sects of Judaism are connected,” she said. PJC

David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.