The Jewish Women’s Resource Center, founded in loving memory of Miriam Masha a”h Dexter (Kalandar), aims to empower Jewish female students at Penn to become proud leaders by connecting them to their heritage through mentorship, learning, and fostering a sense of community on campus.
JWRC’s social engagement includes activities that are framed to engage the students’ minds and bodies, such as cooking and baking nights and fitness activities. These events place an emphasis on teaching female students the importance of real self care: time management, boundaries, healthy interpersonal relationships, and nourishing their bodies through healthy eating and exercise. JWRC’s mentoring program, which is a core element of JHP, aims to match students with female mentors and role models who can guide them on their professional and personal journeys. Mentoring creates professional, personal, and emotional support for students. JWRC’s community service is centered on women helping women. Events such as packing feminine care packages for local women’s shelters foster a sense of empathy and community, and teach students to look out for their peers, and the community at large. Each event is enriched with both a modern and a traditional take on Jewish topics, helping female students understand themselves in the context of the greater Jewish community. Discussions and learning programs are centered around hot button topics such as feminism, politics, the Arab-Israeli conflict, mental wellness, and healthy relationships.
The Jewish Women’s Resource Center has provided me with exactly the tools I needed to make it through this semester. It’s been great to meet and hang out with other girls who I wouldn’t otherwise have a chance to meet through events and coffee chats, and learn about Judaism in a new and unique way.”
