One in eight couples, that’s 12 percent of married women, have trouble getting pregnant or sustaining a pregnancy according to a 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth reported on by the Centers for Disease Control. That can be devastating news for a couple, both financially and psychologically, as they look for ways to start a family. In the past it’s been difficult to find support for those seeking it within in the Jewish community. Annie Glickman hopes it becomes easier very soon.

Glickman is one of six 2015 recipients of a national Seeds of Innovations Project grants, which provide funding for groundbreaking new initiatives developed by Jewish Theological Seminary Alumni. {mprestriction ids="1,3"}Glickman received a $14,000 grant — $7,000 for each of two years — to fund Priya: A New Fund for Jewish Reproduction which will launch in Kansas City.

Glickman, who earned a master’s degree from JTS in 1997, founded a similar project in Dallas, where she and her husband, Rabbi David Glickman, lived prior to moving to Kansas City in the summer of 2012.

“We had our own personal struggles with infertility. It was a very painful process and there just was not enough support in the Jewish community, whether it was emotional or financial support. After we had our kids we wanted to give back and provide an opportunity for others to benefit in the ways that we had benefitted through friends or personal contacts who helped us out,” she explained.

In Hebrew, the word “priya” means being fruitful.

“It comes from one of the first instructions that God gives to humanity. Priya was established to help those in our Jewish community create families. And as a parent, we know how much this joy can bring,” Glickman explained. In Dallas, the Glickmans launched the fund by suggesting donations to Priya in place of gifts to honor the birth of their third child.

When the Glickmans moved to Kansas City three years ago, Josh Stein, director of fund development for the Jewish Community Foundation, reached out to Glickman to begin a conversation about how to bring Priya to Kansas City. Today, with the lead gift of the Seeds of Innovation Grant, Priya has been established as a result of the partnership with Jewish Community Foundation and Jewish Family Services.  

“JFS is thrilled to partner with Annie to help provide consultation, find resources and manage community funds to help couples in the Jewish community who are dealing with infertility. She has shown great leadership in getting a grant to develop this new program,” said JFS Executive Director and CEO Don Goldman.

In addition to his professional commitment to this project, Priya also has a personally significance for JCF Director of Fund Development Josh Stein.

“We had challenges conceiving and were on the brink of needing to undergo IVF treatment. Fortunately, we did not ultimately need to go that route, but when faced with the potential expense and hardship we were surprised to find virtually no support systems like Priya in place. As people, particularly Jews, are waiting until later in life to start their families, it is becoming increasingly common to hear of friends and relatives requiring expensive fertility treatments,” Stein said.

How Priya will work

The grant for Priya was awarded in June. Plans are in place for the three-pronged program — financial, emotional and educational — to begin in October, after the High Holy Days. 

Glickman explained that the JTS Seeds of Innovation grant will fund a part-time social worker at JFS (five hours per week) who has a background in this area and will help coordinate the program. The social worker will meet with individuals or couples, counsel them as well as assist them, if necessary, to identify resources to help pay for medical treatments related to infertility or costs relating to adoption. JFS will soon also form a support group for those who want to connect with others in similar situations. 

The JTS Seeds of Innovations funds are just the tip of the iceberg. No money can be actually be granted to help pay for medical intervention or adoption until more funds are raised, Glickman pointed out.

“I’m very encouraged by what we are doing here in our community because I’ve learned a lot from the experience in Dallas. There has to be the funding arm to support people going through this and also a way to address the emotional support, how difficult it is and how alienating it can be in the Jewish community,” Glickman said.

“That was one of the main reasons why we wanted to partner with JFS to give people the proper support in that way,” she continued. 

JFS’ Goldman said JFS may be able to access some zero and low-interest loan programs for this purpose. Priya will continue to seek grants to help support people needing this type of emotional and financial support.

Priya is not just Glickman. She said an advisory board has been established, comprised of people in the community “who believe in this cause and/or have had a personal connection to this cause who can help us think about the sustainability of the project.”

“We hope this fund can leverage more support for people who are struggling with infertility or who are seeking adoption and needing financial assistance,” she added.

All contributions for Priya will be directed to the Jewish Community Foundation, a decision Glickman said she arrived at carefully and in conjunction with the great leadership that exists in this community.

“I’m really not interested in creating a 501(c)(3). I feel that raising awareness like this should be embedded in the Jewish community and the Foundation is the perfect place to have the fund because the Foundation holds opportunities for so many important causes,” she said.

The Priya fund (a donor-advised fund) will be overseen by the advisory board led by Glickman. The allocations will be made toward helping people with medical costs or costs relating to adoption.

Because of the Seeds of Innovation grant, any local funds raised now will go toward direct medical assistance or assistance with adoptions, and not for administration or programming. Last month Glickman’s role in Priya was featured in Tablet Magazine. The article has already generated interest in the project.

“People can feel very confident that donations are going into a donor-advised fund that is going explicitly for that purpose,” Glickman said.

However, until more funds are collected, Priya is not yet able to actually grant funds.

While Priya is not yet ready to begin accepting applications, JFS is already accepting names to be put on a waiting list when applications for the program do become available.

The original Priya is still going strong in Dallas, under the guidance of Scott and Amanda Beck.

“They are coming in with all kinds of new ideas to raise awareness and funds,” said Glickman.

“But each of us is doing something slightly different,” she said. “There still just isn’t enough support out there just yet for people dealing with these problems.”

To make a contribution to the Priya Fund or to discuss establishing a fund to support a cause that is meaningful to you, contact Stein at 913-327-8121 or .{/mprestriction}