STRONGER is a magazine for religious elementary school-aged children 10-15, whose parents are (or are getting) divorced. The monthly digital magazine’s vision is to give children of this demographic the validation they need. It’s not only the children reading. People of all ages have benefited from this initiative.
Although divorce in the frum world is not the elephant in the room it once was, the issues in this situation are not sufficiently addressed in the regular children’s magazines, although this has been changing slowly.
Chaya Sara Ben Shachar, 39, who lives in Beitar with her husband and eight children, has been managing editor of STRONGER for two years. “In the beginning, the idea of managing such a magazine felt like more an exciting work challenge for me than anything else,” she said, “but I was also excited about this opportunity to ‘give back’ to the world and to use my personal experiences as something that could foster growth for others.” Ben Shachar’s parents divorced when she was a baby.
“I am not a visionary,” added Ben Shachar. The magazine was actually the brainchild of her cousin Pesach Zirkind, whose stepdaughter complained that there was no magazine for this demographic. He was connected to publishing himself. His father, Shazak Zirkind, published the first frum comics.
Pesach Zirkind approached Ben Shachar about starting such a magazine, agreeing to sponsor it. The feedback has been very positive. Parents have lamented that there wasn’t this type of magazine when their kids or, even they, were younger. And children of divorce, who are now adults are also benefiting from it. A man who’d read the magazine and was happily married with children, but had experienced his parents’ divorce as a child, told Ben Shachar that he finds it very therapeutic.
The magazine has all the features of a regular children’s magazine—stories, an advice column, comics, serials, art, but the issues addressed are clearly for children who have divorce in their background and hit closer to home for children from single-parent or blended families.
STRONGER receives its hashkafic supervision and is occasionally printed by My Extended Family—an initiative that helps children from single parent families with programs, advocacy and services.
The magazine has now begun printing in specific locations, and Ben Shachar hopes the trend will continue. She has been encouraged by readers independently printing copies in England, Australia and the United States.
Stronger is now also launching a pen-pal initiative, which was also spawned by a request from a reader in Australia, to encourage children to write and support each other via email, providing them with a friend who can empathize with them and understand what some of their other friends, through no fault of their own, can’t.
The magazine features popular writers who grace the pages of many periodicals. And the response has been positive and encouraging. Most importantly, it’s been achieving its goal, reaching kids who need what STRONGER has to offer. And the bonus is that a subscription is free.
To subscribe, join the pen-pal program, sponsor or write for the magazine, please contact: [email protected]
To contact My Extended Family:
https://www.myef.org
Rosally Saltsman is a freelance writer, originally from Montreal, who lives in Israel. Come join her!
