Today is February 6, 2012 - 13 Shevat 5772
Jewish Groups Pool Resources to Launch Youth Groups
From the June 15, 2009 issue of the Westchester Jewish News:
PEEKSKILL – For Jake Hernandez yesterday evening at the First Hebrew Congregation of Peekskill was about gaining new experiences while being Jewish.
“I am here to expand my Jewish horizons, and meet new people,” said Hernandez, 15, who attends Temple Beth Am in Yorktown Heights. He was sitting with a few friends, some old, some new, at the kick-off party for a joint youth group launched by four synagogues from northern Westchester and Putnam counties.
Croton Jewish Center, First Hebrew Congregation of Peekskill, Yorktown Jewish Center and Temple Beth Shalom of Mahopac have joined together to start a professionally run youth group to be known as the Hudson Valley Kadima/USY Youth Group. The Kadima is for middle school students; the youth group for high school students.
The program also will be open to Jewish teens who are not affiliated with the four temples, said Lili Kasdan, a spokeswoman for the program.
The collaboration also has received a $10,000 grant from the UJA Federation of New York.
“The Jewish population in towns like Larchmont, Scarsdale and Chappaqua are so concentrated that kids there go to school with a lot of other Jewish kids,” Kasdan said. “But in northern Westchester and Putnam, the Jewish population is on the rise but still very scattered.”
So the youth group will enable teens to meet others who may not go to the same synagogue or school, she said.
Georgene Perlman, a parent volunteer from Temple Beth Shalom in Mahopac, said her temple couldn’t have afforded a professional youth director if it hadn’t been for the pooled resources and the grant.
“For us, it is a way to make it more interesting for students so that they stay involved in Judaism, and realize that they are part of a larger community,” Perlman said.
Shelley Avellino, a member of the Croton Jewish Center, said her congregation with just 30 families was one of the smaller groups in the area.
“We are really tiny and desperate for interaction with other temples in this area,” she said.
Activities will include parties, trips, temple sleepovers and community service.
“It will promote Jewish values such as the importance of doing charitable deeds,” Kasdan said. “The hope is that teenagers will remain connected to Judaism as they go through life.”
By Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
svenugop@lohud.com
