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Some of the participants at JSC North Farmington: Yael Plotnick, Margo

Dickstein, Benjamin Plotnick, Rachel Israel, faculty adviser Dawn Spinner,
co-president Brian Dickstein, co-president Joshua Israel and area director

Geoff Berdy.

Teen Engagement

Organization helps high school
students set up Jewish clubs.

ewish Student Connection, a
national nonprofit organiza-
tion dedicated to establishing
non-denominational Jewish clubs in pub-
lic and secular private high schools, has
recently come to Michigan to continue its
efforts in Metro Detroit and Ann Arbor.
Through its clubs, Jewish Student
Connection (JSC) provides teens with the
opportunity to explore what being Jewish
means to them personally and aims
to help foster proud connections with
Jewish culture, with the Jewish people
around the globe, with Israel and with
one another.
Clubs are very much student-driven,
focusing on the interests of students at a
particular school. The clubs also act as a
gateway to further involvement in Jewish
life. Currently, clubs are forming or have
started in the Farmington, Birmingham,
West Bloomfield and Ann Arbor school
districts, but the organization seeks to
offer support and guidance to any stu-
dent in any school district (following
the guidelines for clubs at a particular
school).
Jewish Student Connection is on a path
of continuing growth, already operat-
ing more than 100 clubs in the Chicago,
Denver, South Florida, Connecticut and
New York regions.
Locally, the JSC at North Farmington
High School decided to explore the roots
of French anti-Semitism in the wake of
recent events. Being a club most inter-
ested in exploring Israeli culture, students
decided for their next meeting to offer
free falafel to anyone who stops by.
Another club at Ann Arbor Skyline
in December conducted a discussion
on "Being a Chanukah Person in a
Christmas World:' while eating sufganiyot
(jelly doughnuts).
The area director for the Metro-
Detroit/Ann Arbor region is Geoff Berdy.
Berdy joins the organization having
been a leader in a variety of Jewish educa-
tional settings. Most recently he served as
the education director at Temple Emanu-
El in Oak Park from 2008-2014. He also
brings experience as a career and mental

j

health counselor. Berdy attended five
high schools, which helped sensitize him
to the concerns of high school students,
and he was also educated at Michigan
State University, Hebrew College and
Harvard University and spent time in
Israel on kibbutz and at yeshivah.
"What drew me to the organization is
the opportunity to reach out and meet
students 'where they are on their turf
and their terms. They not only set the
agenda for our clubs, but our clubs serve
as a jumping off point, a gateway to not
one, but the wide variety of experiences
available for Jewish exploration:' Berdy
says.
According to Jeffrey Lasday, direc-
tor of Federation's Alliance for Jewish
Education, "The Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit has convened a
Task Force on Jewish Teen Engagement
to explore ways in which we can increase
teen involvement in the Jewish commu-
nity. We've discovered that Jewish Student
Connection is a program that is gaining
traction in other communities around the
country.
At a time when we need to provide as
many options as possible for Jewish teen
engagement, Jewish Student Connection
provides a unique doorway into 'doing
Jewish' for our teens. It's a program that
meets teens where they are:'
Participants report increased involve-
ment with Jewish organizations, positive
change in their understanding of Judaism
and increased interest in learning about
Israel. Ninety-five percent of Jewish
Student Connection alumni report par-
ticipating in substantive Jewish experi-
ences after high school. JSC locally is
funded in part through the generosity of
the William Davidson Foundation.
JSC empowers teens to start a club at
their own high schools, guiding them
through the process and offering a wealth
of resources. For more information,
contact Geoff Berdy at (248) 289-3244,
email geoff@myjsc.org or check out
the Facebook page at Jewish Student
Connection/Detroit Ann Arbor.

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