There are several Villages in NWPhilly - Northwest Village Network (NVN), East Falls Village, a newly minted Roxborough Village - and a large, well-established village in Center City, Penn's Village (founded in 2008). And in Fall 2024, a nearby village in Lower Merion.

Although we serve different geographic areas and populations, and have different staffing, programs and membership structures, we all share the goal of enabling older adults to age in place - with mutual support in community. 

Shtetl 2.0™ will be unique in being rooted in Jewish values, concerns and customs. We are mindful that there will be a wide variety of Jewish knowledge and practice among our members, thus, we will strive to be warm and welcoming to all.

• Our programs will be in tune with the cycle of the weekly and seasonal Jewish calendar, such as communal Shabbat dinners or Passover seders.
  
  
• We will be sensitive to traditional Jewish foodways at communal meals and will exclude meat (including fowl), shellfish, and non-kosher fish products.
  
  
• We will offer a range of both Jewish and secular cultural programs - celebrating our musicians, artists and writers - while also including others.
  
  
• We will draw on centuries of Jewish wisdom about aging, celebrating life events and acknowledging death, and the practices that help us deal with loss and grief.
  

(This description also fits other Jewish Villages across the country, most notably Chai Village LA, the first synagogue-based Village.)

Centuries of Jewish social activism also allow us to be chutzpadik (audacious) in envisioning larger social change to support elders in NWPhilly to continue to age in this community. To counter the impediments of local geography and traditional building styles - steep steps, limited single/first floor facilities - and financial constraints due to recent gentrification, we will explore many housing options, including advocating for affordable housing. 

We will also look ahead to a time when NWPhilly older adults will include a larger percentage of frail elderly and will proactively explore social service supports that will help more NWPhilly Elders to remain longer in their homes with safety and confidence.

Some potential Shtetl 2.0™ members are already members of other Villages, whether locally or as snowbirds. We welcome them. Households are welcome to be members of both. We look forward to the day that nearby villages can collaborate creatively, public programs can be cross-listed, and associate memberships could be created. Not competition, but collaboration - "parallel play" for the benefit of all!