Connecting youth to a Jewish life
-
A fourth-grader at Community Day School demonstrates blowing the shofar, which will be done during Rosh Hashana services around the world after the holiday begins at sundown tonight.
Share with others:
Meredith Cawley spent most of her 12 years disconnected from her Jewish heritage. But as Rosh Hashana begins tonight, she will celebrate the Jewish New Year as a member of a Reform synagogue and a seventh-grader at Community Day School, a Jewish K-8 in Squirrel Hill.
It happened because a new local endowment, the Centennial Fund for a Jewish Future, gave a scholarship for her to attend a Jewish camp and then paid for her first year at day school.
"Every time I attend services here in the morning, I think about how lucky I am that this was able to happen," Meredith said.
"She would never have been able to attend camp for four weeks without that scholarship," said her mother, Heath Cawley of Squirrel Hill. "The way it all came together for Meredith to attend Community Day School was almost a miracle."
The special fund is a creation of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. The fund's name reflects the federation's 100th anniversary in 2012. Originally formed from groups that served immigrants, the federation has continually adapted to serve the changing needs of local Jews.
For the year 5772, the biggest concern is young Jews who don't participate in Jewish life. A 2002 survey showed 42,000 Jews in Greater Pittsburgh, but studies suggest that 75 percent of the young adults aren't involved with any Jewish activities. The Centennial Fund was designed to help them connect with either cultural or religious Jewish activities.
Outreach to major donors began in 2009, and the fund stands at $17 million.
"We are launching the community phase of the Centennial Fund for a Jewish Future around the celebration of the Jewish New Year, because it's not just about celebrating our past but moving forward and looking at the vision for our community," said Cindy Shapira, who chairs the fund.
"We are about the renewal of the Jewish community."
The fund aims to make entry into Jewish life easier by paying for a camp stay, a year of day school, a college trip to Israel and other events for those who haven't experienced them before. The hope is that participants will decide to continue on their own.
First Published September 28, 2011 12:00 am
