The work was small and careful: writing tags, choosing names, packaging stuffed animals.
At one table, Maya, 13, leaned over a stuffed dog she had just helped prepare. She talked through its personality — what it likes to do, how it might help someone feel less alone. Around her, other children and older adults did the same.
The intergenerational gathering was part of Better Together, a monthly program that brings Milwaukee Jewish Day School children together with older adults for shared learning and service. This session, hosted in November at Friendship Circle, focused on a national commemoration project that links remembrance with action.
The project honors Noya Dan, a young Israeli girl on the autism spectrum, and her grandmother Carmela, who were murdered on Oct. 7, 2023. Noya was known for her deep attachment to stuffed animals, which gave her comfort and a sense of companionship. In her memory, communities across the United States have been collecting new stuffed animals, naming them, and donating them to children with special needs.
“Instead of focusing only on how Noya died, we are choosing to learn from how she lived,” said Noa Gerassi, the Milwaukee Jewish community’s Israeli shlicha, who helped bring the project to the area. “This is about turning grief into kindness.”
Each stuffed animal was given a name, a short backstory and a handwritten card — details meant to help the child who receives it feel seen. Through Friendship Circle, the stuffed animals are being distributed locally to children with special needs.
“She picks the animal, and we come up with the personality together,” said Nadine Siegman, one of the older adult participants, working with then-13 year-old Maya (she turned 14 last month – happy birthday, Maya!). “He likes high-risk sports,” Maya said, of the stuffed animal they said was destined for “a little girl named Anabel.”
Siegman and Maya only know each other through the monthly Better Together program. “What’s nice is you get to know different kids,” Siegman said. “This is my third year in this program. I love the program. I love being with the kids.”
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