YLD and YJAM join forces
Josh Gordon, 31, moved to Milwaukee at the end of April this year from Columbus, Ohio. Being young and Jewish, he wanted “a way to meet people and find out what the Jewish community was like.”
After doing a little research, he found the Young Jewish Adults of Milwaukee, and has attended a couple of their events — most recently a happy hour at the Wicked Hop.
Gordon says that he was “involved in a similar group” in Columbus, and has found the gatherings a good way to meet new people.
Now, YJAM (a program of the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center and Hillel Foundation-Milwaukee) and the Young Leadership Division of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation are combining efforts so that they can reach out to even more young Jewish adults than ever before, according to Randi Komisar, who coordinates YJAM events.
“We’re partnering together to get a focus, get large attendance, and get people involved…. [This] partnership allows us to get this done.”
Ellie Gettinger, young leadership coordinator for the federation, agreed: “We will be better able to serve the population through larger, more coordinated events.”
For each event, Komisar says she, along with Gettinger, Stephanie Dykeman and Phillip Katz, YLD outreach committee co-chairs, try to pick “cool, hip places with a unique twist.”
The next event, part of a series called “Spirits in the City,” will be held at Moct (pronounced most), a new spot in Milwaukee’s Fifth Ward, on Monday, Sept. 13. Happy hour will start at 6 p.m. and will feature a performance by comedian Shalom Sherman.
The goal of the partnership between YJAM and the YLD outreach committee is to “plug into people who are not involved” said Katz. “YJAM has done great work establishing its base and it will be great to bridge to the federation.”
Dykeman said that the partnership “intends to reach out to people who are new to the community … people with families, single, or newly married. We don’t want people to think they can’t come to these events because they don’t fit into a certain category.”
Though not intended as singles events, that doesn’t mean relationships don’t form. Dykeman, who was married this past summer, said that though she had met her husband beforehand, they “started seeing each other after a Christmas eve” YJAM event held a few years ago.
Future plans for the group include the “Latke-Vodka Ball,” which will be held at the William F. Eisner Museum of Advertising and Design on Dec. 11. This event is intended to replace the annual Christmas Eve party, which falls on Shabbat this year.
Komisar says the party will be “a first of a kind for Milwaukee.”
Registration for the Sept. 13 event is $5 in advance and $10 at the door. To RSVP contact Ellie Gettinger at 414-390-5742 or ellieg@milwaukeejewish.org; or Randi Komisar at 414-967-8393 or rkomisar@jccmilwaukee.org. Register online at www.milwaukeejewish.org .
Loading ...