North Shore Teen Initiative

For many years, North Shore teens seeking meaningful Jewish engagementhad few options, particularly if they were unaffiliated or wanted toconnect with friends outside their own local area or youth group. Fromgloucester to marblehead, it was difficult for Jewish teens toparticipate in Jewish learning, community service, and social eventswith other Jewish teens from the area.established in 2008 with start-up funding from the jim josephfoundation, the Jewish Teen Initiative of Greater Boston ("jti") soughtto fill this void. During our 2016-2017 fiscal year, we expanded toencompass a new sub-region. Now serving Boston's North Shore andmetrowest communities, jti connects Jewish teens to their peers and inspires participation in Jewish life by:-creating Jewish experiences for teens-building partnerships with synagogues and teen-focused organizations-establishing an infrastructure to identify Jewish teens, promoteengagement in Jewish learning opportunities, and create Jewish teennetworksjewish life for teens in the Greater Boston area is now more vibrant,accessible and rich with possibility. From running a jcc's purimcarnival, to volunteering with habitat for humanity, to enjoying skidays and making music, to "the hub's" interactive sessions on jewishlife, jti offers a wide range of meaningful Jewish experiences.through these experiences, jti seeks to inspire teens to live activeand vibrant Jewish lives, and to engage in ongoing Jewish learning, asthey become adults.while creating its own new programming, jti supports the efforts ofexisting organizations that serve Jewish youth. Jti links and partnerswith other organizations to develop a more coordinated spectrum ofengagement opportunities and to increase the network of engaged jewishteens on both the North Shore and metrowest communities of boston.jti welcomes all teens of all abilities who self-identify as jewish,without regard to background, membership or affiliation. Jti isstructured so that financial circumstances are never a barrier toparticipation. Jti was established as a demonstration on boston'snorth Shore, an area consisting of 23 towns and cities. In addition tobenefiting the teens, jti enriches Jewish communal organizations withincreased community-wide Jewish Teen engagement and learning. Jti hasestablished a model that others seek to adapt in their communities,and, in addition, has begun to implement a sustainability plan.