Youth Engagement Audit Review · Audit Themes - Professionals: 1) There is a diverse and impressive menu of opportunities available for Jewish teens in St. Louis that span movements,

YouthEngagement–AuditReviewSt.Louis,MO–Summer2017

TEENENGAGEMENTAUDIT PreliminaryFindings

St.Louis

CONNECTINGOURCOMMUNITY

OurGoalfromconversationswithsynagogueandcommunalstaffandlayleadership,

wastobeginidentifying:

STRENGTHS/SOURCESOFPRIDE

GAPSINPROGRAMMING/WISHLISTS

OPPORTUNITIESFORCOLLABORATION

CURRENTENGAGEMENTNUMBERS

(ASSELFREPORTED)


St.Louis


MeetingsWithSt.LouisCongregations

Synagogue Website MeetingAttendees

Congregation Shaare Emeth https://www.sestl.org

Rabbi Jonah Zinn Rabbi James M. Bennett Stacy Jespersen Cantor Seth Warner

United Hebrew Congregation

http://www.unitedhebrew.org Rabbi Roxanne Shapiro & Lee Rosenberg

Bnot Sherut / Young Israel

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007417215446

Sima Oberlander Ginat Midler

Temple Emanuel https://www.testl.org Subie Banaszynski

Bnai Amoona

https://www.bnaiamoona.com/lifelong-learning/education-team/

Shelby Cohen Andy Schwebel Avital Ostfield

Bais Abe https://www.baisabe.com Ginat Midler

CRChttp://www.centralreform.org Maxine Weil


St.Louis


MeetingsWithSt.LouisAgencies

Synagogue Website MeetingAttendees

Jewish Federation of St. Louis https://www.jfedstl.org Emily Bornstein & Andrew Rehfeld

Jewish Federation of St. Louis https://www.jfedstl.org Emily Bornstein & Cyndee Levy

BBYO http://bbyo.org Debbie Tozer

Israeli Scouts/Tzofim www.israelscouts.org Yael Treger

Jewish Student Union http://jsustl.orgRabbi Mike Robinsky Sam Zitin

JCRC http://jcrcstl.org Fawn Chapel Rebecca Nathanson

Jewish Community Center https://jccstl.com

Craig Neuman Rabbi Brad Horwitz Simone Picker Brad Chotiner

WhatYoungAdultsReportedNationally

Yeah,I’mJewish,so?

Nooneinvitedme

Iwon’tknowanyone/my

friendsaren’tgoing…

Ididn’tknowthatwas

happening…


St.Louis

}  St.Louishasthebuildingblockstoestablisharobustteenengagementstrategy.

}  EstablishedandlargeparticipatoryJewishpopulation.

}  Existingteenofferingsfromavarietyoforganizations.

}  Committedandengaged“community”,willingtosetyouthengagementandeducationasapriority.

}  “Needisnotaquestion–thereisalackofcoordinationandcollaborationwhichlimitsteenoutreachandparticipation”

}  Beliefinteenengagement.

}  Excitementaroundcommunalcollaboration.

CommunityReadiness/OpportunitytoCreateTEENENGAGEMENTAUDIT PreliminaryFindings

St.Louis


Estimatedbetween3,000and3,500

BBYO244*paidmembers Tzofim

30~35

JCRCProgramming

~170

JewishStudentUnion

711

JCC~250-300

ShaareEmeth

310UnitedHebrew

130

BnotSherut/YoungIsrael

45

TempleEmanuel

23

B’naiAmoona

??

BaisAbe~10

CentralReform

??TEENENGAGEMENTAUDIT PreliminaryFindings

St.Louis


AuditThemes-Professionals:1)  ThereisadiverseandimpressivemenuofopportunitiesavailableforJewishteensinSt.Louis

thatspanmovements,formal,informal,travel,volunteerism,peerengagementandmore.2)  WhenFederationcoordinatesmeetingsorevents(likeyouthcouncilorJ-Serve),itlowers

barriersofperceivedcompetition.Everyonereportedwillingnessandsomesuccesseswhencollaboratingwithacentral“neutral”convener.However,programmaticfollowthroughandcoordinationislacking.

3)  Thereisastrongcamppresencethroughoutcommunitywithsomelinkedsuccesstoyearround

programming(mostsignificantlythroughBBYO).Campstaffpersonwithcorrelating10monthBBYOadvisorpositionisseenasmostsignificantcontributingvariabletothatconnectionandsuccess.

4)  Thereisalackofcoordinatedmarketingandawarenessoftheopportunitiesthatareavailablethroughoutcommunityforteens.Moststaffincommunityknowwhattheyareofferingin-houseandareawareofahandfulofothertemplesandprograms.Nocentralcalendar.

5)  Universallyamonginterviewees,therewasastrongcommitmenttoandsupportforIsrael.Severalprogramsreflectedontheirownscholarshipfundstoincentivizeandsupporttravel.

6)  Severalsynagoguebasedprogramsreportedfeeling“leftout”offundingpriorities,despiteengaginglargenumbersofteenmembers.Theyreflectedon“doublecountingoftheirmembers”bycentralizedteenprogramsdoingengagementwork.


St.Louis


AuditThemes–TeenRepresentatives:1)  Teensreportedprideintheirspecificaffiliatedyouthprograms(USY,

NFTY,BBYO,NCSYandBnaiAkivah)anddidn’tfeelthathavingmultipleoptionswasadeterrentorproblemtoparticipation.

2)  Teensfeltmostofthehang-upsorbarrierstocollaborationbetween

youthorganizationscamefromadultssettingtherulesandpriorities,ratherthanfromtheteenparticipants.Theyreflectedthatcollaboratingcouldandshouldbeeasy,but“sometimes,adultswontletus”.

3)  Theyreflectedonaproblematicallywidegapinthequalitycontrolbetweenlocaleventsandregionalevents.“Whiletheyhavethesamename,theyarereallyreallydifferentthings”.

4)  Teenswouldlikethespacetobothfeelprideintheirindividualyouth

groups,aswellastheopportunitytoworkinconjunction/parnershipwiththeirfriendsinothergroups.


St.Louis



St.Louis


StrongTempleYouthGroups

RobustJCCProgram&Connected

Camp

WideSpreadJSU

EngagementinSchools

StandOutAgency

Programming(JCRC,Nishma,RoshHodesh,

Tzofim)

LargeandConnected

BBYOChapter

Strengths/SourcesofPride:

YouthGroups:NFTY,NCSY,USYandB’naiAkivahallhavesignificantgroupsrunninginassociationwiththeirrespectivesynagoguesandmovements.Thereisastronginvestmentinprofessionalstobeworkingwiththeseaffiliatedmembershipyouthgroupentrypoints.JCC:Withtwocampuses,daycampandovernightcamptheJCCiswellpositionedtobeacentralandpluralisticleaderinthespaceofteenrecruitmentandretention.JSU:Hasanincredibletrackrecordalreadyofbringingtheengagementprocesstotheteensintheirpublicschoolsetting,ratherthanrelyingontheirtempleororganizationalaffiliation.CentralAgencies:Additionally,therearehighlyeffectiveprogramrunbyJCRC,Mishma,TzofimandRoshHodeshBBYO:Notonlyisthechapterthrivingandlarge,butitisintegrallyconnectedtotheJCC’ssummercampbyvirtueofasharestaffperson,andworkscollaborativelywithtempleyouthgroups.

CentralQuestions

What’sWORKINGtoengageJewish

teensandconnectthemto

opportunities?

WhatBARRIERS

existwhenwetrytoconnectJewishteenstoprogramming?

What’sMISSINGfrom

ourcollectiveefforttoengageJewishteens?


St.LouisAbundanceofProgramming

OpportunityisNOTtheChallenge

CommunityWideCoordinator/CentralAddressTEENENGAGEMENT

AUDIT PreliminaryFindings

St.Louis


Temples

BBYO

JSU

JCRC

CentralAddress?

Tzofim

JCC

•  Leveragesexistingknowledgetoadapta“teeninitiative”

•  Investsinhuman

resources,training,andoperationstopositionforgrowth

•  Collaborateswithpeers

insettingabroadervisionforyouthengagement

CentralizedandSharedTeenCalendarTEENENGAGEMENT


St.Louis


BringingNewOutreachStrategiestoSt.LouisTEENENGAGEMENT


St.Louis


CreatingALogicModel/Theoryof

Change

Challenges/Problems

KeyStrategies

Outcomes/Benchmarks


St.Louis

IdentifyingOpportunitiesForCollaboration,Partnership&Community


St.Louis


AnticipatedS

caleofInvest

ment

PositionforSustainability

Growth

EstablishBaselineExpandImpact

Year1 Year2 Year3 Year4 Im

pact

Documents

Youth Engagement Audit Review · Audit Themes - Professionals: 1) There is a diverse and impressive menu of opportunities available for Jewish teens in St. Louis that span movements,