Rabbi Bornstein has continued broadening Kishroni’s horizons since last spring and membership has mushroomed from 130 children last June to a current enrollment of over 2,500, with programs for both girls and boys, ages nine through thirteen. According to Rabbi Borenstein, Kishroni has been received enthusiastically by Torah U’Mesorah, Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky, the Novominsker Rebbe, Rabbi Malkiel Kotler, Rabbi Avraham Chaim Feldman and Rabbi Hillel David.
“I think this is a fantastic idea,” said Rabbi Shmuel Klein, director of publications and communications at Torah U’Mesorah. “The rule of thumb in education these days is to provide the kids who don’t shine academically with a venue to shine in other ways. Outlets like these are good for the children who do well in the classroom, but for the ones who don’t, they are amazing.”
One of Kishroni’s most popular activities is a weekly show on JROOT radio airing Thursday nights from 7 to 8 PM.
“I host the program but it is by kids for kids,” explained Rabbi Bornstein. “We have correspondents in various places including Chicago, Minnesota, Lakewood and Passaic and we talk about real news that kids can relate to.”
Among the topics covered recently are the credit cards woes plaguing Target, Jonathan Pollard and a recent kidney transplant that took place in Baltimore.
10-year-old Hadassah Grossman of Brooklyn serves as the program’s meteorologist.
“She looks up the weather every week and she does the weather report,” reported Hadassah’s mother, Blimi Grossman. “It is a fabulous public speaking opportunity for her, it is fun and it is good for her. Everyone calls her about it and she feels like a million dollars.”
Mrs. Grossman finds Kishroni to be of tremendous benefit to all children, including those who have no academic issues.
“My other two children are also interested in Kishroni and I tell them when they are older, we will find a part for them there as well,” said Mrs. Grossman.
Other mothers lavished praise on the program.
“There isn’t much in the way of extra-curricular activities in the yeshivas and it is such a good outlet for the children to do something else,” said Mrs. Dina Steinberg, whose nine-year-old son is currently working on a Kishroni project. “My son is busy sketching and looking things up in seforim to make sure the details are right. It is so nice that he is working with a friend on this and it really brings out a sense of responsibility in the children.”
“My son worked with the food at last year’s program,” added Mrs. Toby Neiman. “He did cotton candy, french fries and drinks. He felt really good about himself and felt very important.”
As Kishroni’s enrollment has expanded so too has its offerings. Rabbi Bornstein plans to host four annual live events as well as publish a bimonthly magazine with stories, articles, puzzles and other features.
“As always it is by the kids for the kids, with a different idea every month to get the kids involved,” explained Rabbi Bornstein. “This month we are doing license plates from all over the country and we have asked the kids to send in pictures of different license plates they have seen.”
Also in the works are DVDs featuring the boys and girls of Kishroni displaying their talents in various clips, with separate discs for boys and girls. The DVD will be available free of charge for members and Rabbi Bornstein also hopes to make it available for sale to the general public.
“Kids today have zero outlets,” added Rabbi Bornstein, who is working closely with over 20 elementary school principals on the program. “As a rebbi and a behavioral therapist I can tell you that that is very troubling. It is so hard on kids and we have members from all across the religious spectrum.”