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Reborn As An Innovator in Jewish Education Press Release
Reborn As An Innovator in Jewish Education Press Release
For Immediate Release
Contact: Adrienne Cooper
acooper@circle.org
Workmen’s Circle, 212‐889‐6800 x. 226
REBORN AS AN INNOVATOR IN JEWISH EDUCATION, WORKMEN’S CIRCLE
STARTS ITS SECOND CENTURY WITH NEW MISSION, LEADERSHIP, ENERGY
With Pending Sale of Iconic Midtown Headquarters, 110‐Year‐Old Progressive
Organization Returns to Its Roots, Relocating to Garment District
http://www.circle.org
New York City, October 24 – With a transformed mission, new leadership, and renewed zeal for
progressive values, a legendary Jewish organization is getting reborn as a major force in Jewish
education.
The Workmen’s Circle/Arbeter Ring – the celebrated social‐justice organization founded in 1900 by
Jewish immigrants ‐ will now “create innovative education programs to inspire a new generation of
progressive activists,” according to executive director Ann Toback.
At an historic annual meeting today, October 24, Toback will also unveil a long‐awaited reboot of the
Workmen’s Circle’s decades‐old board and membership structures. For the first time in its history, the
organization will elect a woman president, Philadelphia education non‐profit professional Madelon
Braun, whose father, Harold Ostroff, served multiple terms as a dynamic president and leader of the
Workmen’s Circle. The organization will elect its board and president by “direct democracy” for the first
time, replacing the old “representative democracy” system.
Toback – the group’s first woman executive director ‐‐ will also announce to members that the
organization is in contract to sell the iconic headquarters it has occupied at 45 E. 33rd Street since 1973.
The Workmen’s Circle will move to new offices in the Garment District, Toback said.
“Along with the fact that the sale is advantageous both financially and strategically, there’s an inspiring
symbolic value in moving from our longtime offices to a new location,” she said. “While we’re going
back to our roots, in a sense, we’re also very much looking toward the future in one of the city’s most
dynamic and progressive neighborhoods.”
New Mission Looks to Grow Membership Among Families, Youth
Likewise, the Workmen’s Circle’s new mission will revitalize an organization with an active but aging
membership. Working with culture influencers, educators, lay leaders, and parents, the Workmen’s
Circle will develop “a professional, original educational model for children and their families,” said
Toback, who had been a longtime leader of the Writer’s Guild of America, East.
The goal: To engage thousands of Jewish families nationwide by 2015. The programs, which will pair
expressions of Jewish identity with progressive activism, will aim to fill a gap in Jewish education that
has focused largely on religious studies, Toback said. “As many as two‐thirds of unaffiliated American
Jews have indicated they want more inspiring alternatives in Jewish education.”
The organization will begin developing a network of Jewish “learning circles” based on advancing
progressive values of social and economic justice, Toback said. By doing so, the Workmen’s Circle will
align itself with a new generation of progressive American Jewish organizations that promote social
justice through Jewish values.
“In our second century, Workmen’s Circle has the opportunity to nourish American Jewish life as much
our predecessors did,” Toback said. “The DNA of the Workmen’s Circle has always been a passion for
making the world a better place for everyone, and that’s what will drive the new Workmen’s Circle as
we engage a new generation of activists.”
Educational projects will be documented, analyzed and evaluated for their effectiveness as the
Workmen’s Circle develops replicable curricula that are easily transferable. The organization will also
add staff positions as it expands it educational offerings. The Workmen’s Circle currently affiliates with
seven “shules” nationwide – schools that emphasize cultural literacy and Jewish identity – that will form
the basis for the new “learning circles” model.
New Structure Heralds Strong Future for 110‐year‐old Organization
Here’s how the new structure of the Workmen’s Circle works: The Workmen’s Circle will elect its
national board and president in a “direct‐democracy” process for the first time in its history this year.
The new 19‐person board of directors of the Workmen’s Circle will replace its former National Executive
Board; the annual meeting, to be held each fall, will take the place of the group’s longtime biennial
convention of delegates. The new structure also gives members a direct vote on the organization’s most
significant business transactions, like the impending sale of the organization’s Manhattan headquarters.
The Workmen’s Circle also includes over twenty “active branches” in cities across the US. The role of
these affiliates will also shift to allow them to play a key role in the Workmen’s Circle’s new vision.
Rather than participate in direct governance of the organization, active branches will become an
important local resource as the organization expands programming and seeds new communities.
A Brief History of The Workmen’s Circle
Recognizing the importance of facing challenges of a new land with a unified front, and feeling the
resonance of traditional and deeply‐held Jewish values emphasizing community and social justice, a
group of progressive‐minded immigrants gathered in 1900 to found Der Arbeter Ring ‐‐ in English, the
Workmen's Circle. The Workmen's Circle has remained passionately committed to the principles at the
living core of the organization: Jewish community, the promotion of an enlightened Jewish culture, and
social justice.
About the New Workmen’s Circle
Proudly progressive since 1900, the Workmen’s Circle/Arbeter Ring seeks to make the world a better
place by promoting social justice through Jewish values. Today’s Workmen’s Circle engages Jewish
families with lifelong education, cultural celebrations, and activism. Workmen’s Circle is a 501(c)(3)
nonprofit organization. Join us at circle.org.
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