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I Special

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several conversations, JYp of Ann Arbor
officially born. The JYp page on

What started with. a handful of committed

grads has grown rapidly into a hub

of community for active young Jews in and
around Ann Arbor; Its Facebook group,

which

publidzes

ill

regular

activities,

now

numbers about 270.

from the Ann Arbor Jewish Federatiorr

Like Zimet, he attended
both Ann Arbor's Hebrew
Day School and its public
schools After graduat­

(which is its primary sponsor).

ing with degrees in

are more

journalism and Middle

m Ann

:East studies from tile

University of Texas in

country, lack alI atf:li.atio:9 witiil! any- JeVifim
organization, yet find it appealing to build

on a

Austin. he returned to

on

Ann Arbor to pursue a
career as a journalist "to

tives.

shoestring budget, showcasing

the power of grassroots ventures to quickly
connect, engage and build community that

resonates

Facebook has publicized events and news:

One of the biggest draws to

diversity

JYp

with young adults and leaders in

is the

University
graduated
from Southfield-based Akiva Hebrew Day

a

of Michigan dental student who

School to

.

10,( its members. Members witlI

Detroit connections range from

Iewish Young Professionals is run by lay

leaders

a

U-M medical student who

Ben Freed

grad­

forms. Outside ofhis work, JYp has been

large

role in the

of community engagement in 2013, brought
together young leaders to assess how the

community could be more

welcoming
young [ewish professionals. The young

to

leaders decided 1iD start a formal group ro
ploo regnlu p1TOgram5 fur then- peels.

The �o1!1ip foclJ£�dl on developing ideas
to create entry points: for their felow y:mmg

easily meet and do Iewish activities:
together. After the Federation facilitated

to

2 January

29

•

2015

do

physics and bio-medical research at U-M.

a

formation of ttlle groUip. Baden, who joined
the Ann Arbor Federation staff as director

Jews

Google and others who

There also

are

town after

completing Teach for America

and the Peace

members

coming back to

Corps.

Aimee Flood, who grew up in Grand

Rapids, remarked on the groups Facebook:
page that JYp has been a "great way to meet
people and see new places if you are new to

t11e area."

nn

Ben Freed has been one of the

major passion.
"Young Jewish life in Ann Arbor is
incredibly exciting right now;' he said. The

group has created a core set of activities,
ranging from a kosher wine night and an

Israeli picnic to

and a

groups key

organizers since it began about one year

ago. Freed moved to Ann Arbor at age 10.

happy hour get-togethers

.

Lag b'Omer bonfire.

Freed said this

regular set of events fills

Manyyonng [ews

then- Iewish

across

the

identity-with peer-led initia­

Freed estimates there are around 40 regu­

100

to a

come to a program every
Since its inception, more than.

or so.

people, from. U-Mgraduate students:
growing bodz ofpmfesstonals; have

moved to ANn Arbor to build their

The diverse mix ofyoung

led the 10

ety of events.

or so

Leaders

careers,

professionals has

organizers to

create

a

vari­

recently formed a mission state­

"TYP [seeks] to create a strong com­
munity for young Jewish professionals in

ment:

the greater Ann Arbor

area in order to keep
engaged ill Iewtsh life through social
connections, cultural and religious explora­

them

tion, and

a

commitment to tikkun olam

-

repairing the world,"

need ful tdite

community and provides a
greaten degree' of programming that has

Creating Community

been ladti.ng the past few ye3lllS. Their goal
is to help yot.lffiilg Jews here stay connected

in the sukkah attended by 35

with their peers and also help those who
move to Ann Arbor to
quickly find a sense

Tra siti

a

Arb.1i .Jewish Life

a

estimate- there­

Arbor, like their peers

month

who work at

For .JYP

than 1,000.

inform the

any connections to the Detroit or Ann
Arbor communities. There are members

5

Jewish
Arbor, several YIP members

[ewish Academy.

through JYP, 1 could see myself here for
many years; Zimet said.

Rabbi ilana Baden played

exact number of young
professionals: ages 21-40 in Ann

no

lar attendees who

While the group includes a handful
of members who grew up in the greater
Detroit area, most members do not have

'With all that the

While there's

write stories that change people's lives and

Jewish communitj;
dty has to offer,
wiith
the
coupled
great friends I've made

the

ofmeaning andcommnnity.

uated from West Bloomfield-based Frankel

public:'
He current1y works full time as the
general assignments reporter for the Ann
Arbor NewslMLive Media Group, where he's
responsible for generating content across
their print, audio, video and digital plat­

See

bor,

to the Jewish News

was

recent

i

e

Two notable evembi include

on

page 14

a

story slam,

people and a