JumpSpark Archives

Change Maker Spotlight: Varda Cheskis Sauer

This month as we name our Change Maker, we want to do things a little differently and chat with our honoree, Ms. Varda Cheskis Sauer. A teacher by trade and a champion for creating more places and ways for teens to connect with Jewish life, Varda is known and beloved by the hundreds of students that come through the doors of the Jewish Culture Club at
North Springs Charter High School.

This spring after 14 years, she’s moving on from sponsoring the club, but her support and dedication will not be forgotten. Thank you, Varda, for investing in the Jewish teens of Atlanta and for being a Change Maker in our community!

JumpSpark: How many years have you sponsored the Jewish Culture Club at North Springs?

Varda Cheskis Sauer

Varda Cheskis Sauer: I have sponsored the Jewish Culture Club for 14 years! Some students approached me in 2005 about starting a “Jewish club.” Initially I told them no because, with North Springs being a public school, I did not want to violate the law of separation of church and state. Then, we came up with the idea of a Jewish “Culture” Club where everyone would be welcome who might want to join! The rest is history!! We are the largest club at North Springs with the most active membership! Virtually EVERY member attended every single meeting!

JS: Why did you choose to devote so many years to teens?

VCS: I know that most teens have little or no Jewish continuity in their lives from their Bar/Bat Mitzvah years until they have children of their own. That’s a long gap with no Jewish education! My goal was to provide education at every single meeting in order to fill that gap! It was a challenge to figure out a model that would draw students in and KEEP them!! After all, they had to give up their lunch period and social time with their friends! Having Rabbi David Silverman as our main speaker was definitely a huge asset and draw for the students. He has been extremely engaging with the teens and made every meeting fun and inspirational!

JS: Do you have an idea of how many total teens have come through the club over the years?

VCS: My estimate is about 1600 teens came through my North Springs Jewish Culture Club! The club grew very quickly – word spread like wildfire! The club started out with 20 student-teens, doubled in size the next year, and by the 4th year, we had 100 members and could barely fit in any room in the school! By the 10th year, we had 160 active members and were lucky to have the use of the huge Band room and Media Center for our meetings! No classroom could accommodate a club of our size!

JS: What do you most hope they’ve learned from you and the Jewish culture club?

VCS: The teens have experienced a real sense of ‘kehillah’ or ‘community!’ They loved having a regular time when they would learn about Jewish culture with other teens in their public school. Over the years they have told me that they learned so many things about Judaism and its culture that they never studied when younger. They have been taught excellent skills on how to respond to many questions from the general school population. They said this gave them a sense of security within their social circles.

JS: How many years did you work as a teacher and what subject(s) did you teach?

VCS: I was at North Springs High School for 24 years! I taught Sociology and Health Education in the late 1980s for 3 years and then I shifted careers for a few years while raising my children. I came back to NSHS in 1995 and retired in 2016! I created two amazing Internship classes – Mentorship and Magnet Internship. I taught 11th and 12th graders all about the value of internships and then I placed them all out into internships during their class time with me! My classes were definitely a favorite elective for the students!

JS: How else have you worked or volunteered with Jewish teens?

VCS: As a teen myself, I was a volunteer teaching assistant at my own synagogue Hebrew School in Chicago. As a mom, I served on the Adult BBYO Board in the mid-1990s. I chaperoned teens on numerous field trips for the Greenfield Hebrew Academy (now Atlanta Jewish Academy) including their big 8th grade trip to NYC.

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JumpSpark Invests in Atlanta Jewish Community Through $260,000+ In Spark Grants

JumpSpark has awarded more than $266,000 in Spark Grant funding to six organizations working to expand programming for Jewish teens in Atlanta. A new grant program in 2019, Spark Grants allow JumpSpark to invest in the Jewish teen space in Atlanta through large-scale strategic grants. Renewable up to three years to support long-term program growth, these grants are intended to create and fund new programs and initiatives, support programmatic growth, and rethink existing models of teen engagement.

“In the fast-paced, demanding world teens live in today, the Jewish community must focus its resources to create diverse entry points to lifelong Jewish learning and community engagement,” says Kelly Cohen, JumpSpark Director.

After a discovery period in 2018 to understand the needs of Atlanta’s teen ecosystem – including teens, families of teens, and Jewish professionals that work with teens – and a pilot grantmaking cycle of $1,000 awards, JumpSpark opened a request for proposals that support community infrastructure growth, create new points of engagement, provide high-level Jewish learning, and foster collaboration and community-building opportunities in Atlanta.

The 2019 recipients are:

Creating Connected Communities – $39,000 to expand the successful Leadership Development Program.
In the City Camps – $45,000 to expand Camp Mogul business camps for middle school students.
Jewish Kids Groups – $36,850 to launch the Learner-Leader-Teacher Development Academy.
Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta – $70,000 to sponsor the VOX ATL-run Maccabi Star Reporter program and catalyze participation in the Atlanta-hosted 2019 Maccabi games into expanded year-round programming for teen athletes.
SOJOURN – $25,000 to pilot the Tum Tum program, a safe space for Jewish LGBTQ+ identified teens and allies to share, learn, and connect.
Union for Reform Judaism – $70,000 to launch the Teen Engagement Internship program, a year-round leadership and engagement model successfully piloted by the Northeast Teen Collective.

JumpSpark is a proud partner and innovation initiative of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. CEO Eric Robbins said, “The Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta is proud to drive this important initiative that is making incredible impact and investment in our teen community!”

As an invested partner, JumpSpark looks forward to building these programs with recipients and creating more opportunities for a vibrant Jewish life in Atlanta.

JumpSpark, Atlanta’s initiative for Jewish teen engagement, connects and invests in the community to create more meaningful and defining moments for Jewish teens in Atlanta. Serving teens, their parents, and educators that work with teens, JumpSpark offers empowering teen programs, Navigating Parenthood workshops, professional development, and grants. JumpSpark is supported as an innovation initiative of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, by the Jim Joseph Foundation, and by generous donors in the community.

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Consent and Identity: The Importance of Knowing Myself

Rachel Cohn

Coming into this meeting with the poet Caroline Rothstein about consent, I was prepared to have a difficult discussion about the reality of sexual abuse and rape culture. However, this meeting with Caroline pleasantly surprised me. We learned that you cannot give your consent to something without fully knowing who you are as a person.

Caroline speaking to the Strong Women

Caroline told us her struggles with finding her own identity in the form of beautiful poems. She spoke about the hardships she faced every day and the struggles with being a woman in society today. She spoke poetry about sexual abuse and her difficult eating disorder.

Caroline Rothstein

However, to me, the most noteworthy poem was about how despite all these burdens, she still showed up on the other side a strong woman who knew her strong identity. The words Caroline said truly spoke to me and it felt as though she knew me better than I knew myself. I was on the edge of my seat just wanting her to keep chanting about what she was passionate about, for I was also passionate about the same things.

Writing

After that, we had the opportunity to write our own poetry and I found it much easier than I anticipated. Our poems were about being Jewish and women or about being a Jewish woman. I had so much to say and found it inspiring that everyone else did as well. It was comforting to be in a room full of people who have the same beliefs and values as I do.

While I came into this meeting eager to learn about consent, I ended up learning more about identity and the importance it plays in knowing whether or not to give consent to something. Caroline was extremely empowering and I was grasping onto every last word she said. Although this meeting went much differently than expected, I am so grateful for that because what we talked about in this meeting, identity, and being a Jewish woman, are all so important to me and things that I will never stop caring about. •

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Introducing…Beit Midrash for Jewish Professionals

Over President’s Day weekend JumpSpark Professional traveled with 14 local Jewish educators and professionals to Ramah Darom. Surrounded by the beauty of the North Georgia mountains we participated in the Pardes Beit Midrash B’Darom, a weekend of learning and community building. All the learning was incredibly meaningful, but there was one new piece of text that has stuck with me:

Reish Lakish, a 3rd century scholar said, “Adorn yourself first, and then adorn others.”

This is the Jewish equivalent of “Please put on your own oxygen mask first before assisting others.” Reish Lakish is reminding us about the importance of self-care. How many of us working in the Jewish world forget that message? How often do we really do something for ourselves? We all know we should, but so often we feel we are just too busy.

That is why JumpSpark Professional is launching the Beit Midrash for Jewish Professionals. For one hour a month you can set aside time to do something for yourself and your own Jewish self-care. Come explore Jewish text and wisdom together with other Jewish professionals and discuss how it relates to our lives and our work. Each month the session will be led by a different Rabbi or Jewish Educator from our community. No Hebrew or prior text experience necessary.

Our first session is February 27, 2019 at 10:30 AM, and we would love to have you join us! Our topic for discussion is, “What’s Jewish about Innovation?”

Give yourself the gift of Jewish self-care this week. Learn more and register here.

Can’t join us? Make sure you are following JumpSpark Pro on Facebook for all upcoming professional development opportunities.

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We’re Hiring: Engagement Manager

We’re ready to expand the JumpSpark team! Do you think you have what it takes to join a fun, hardworking organization dedicated to Jewish engagement and education in Atlanta?

Job Description

Title: Engagement Manager

Category: Regular, Full-time Exempt

Reports to: Director, JumpSpark

JumpSpark: Atlanta’s initiative for Jewish teen engagement, connects and collaborates with the community to create more meaningful and defining moments for Jewish teens in Atlanta while enhancing the infrastructure of Jewish education and engagement in Atlanta. JumpSpark invests in existing programs, supports new and innovative ideas, and thinks creatively to meet the needs of teens, their parents, and Jewish educators and professionals that work with teens. Our portfolio includes Teen Programs, Navigating Parenthood workshops, Jewish Professional Development, and Grants.

Job Summary: The Engagement Manager is an integral team member of a growing organization working to rethink teen education and engagement in the Atlanta Jewish community. JumpSpark is part of the Jewish Teen Education and Engagement Funder Collaborative, a nationwide network working together to develop, nurture, and scale new approaches to teen engagement, and in this role the Engagement Manager will have the opportunity to think creative, new ideas; look at a “big picture” view of community and education trends; and benefit from the wealth of shared knowledge and philanthropic funds dedicated to the future of Jewish teen education and engagement. The candidate should be familiar with the Jewish education and engagement landscape, players, and trends and must be comfortable working in a fast-paced, innovative, and experimental work environment with general supervision.

Responsibilities

Build strong relationships in the Atlanta Jewish community
Strengthen Atlanta’s Jewish teen ecosystem by working with teens, families of teens and educators and professionals who work with teens
Create and manage innovative programming for JumpSpark’s target populations including curricular development and implementation
Work with JumpSpark grantee partners on program implementation and grant oversight
Engage in the national conversation of Jewish innovation and education
Participate in the national network of the Jewish Teen Education and Engagement Funder Collaborative
Complete a broad variety of tasks as needed to further the mission of JumpSpark

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution
3-5 years of experience working in Jewish education or engagement
Knowledge of, passion for, and/or an authentic personal connection to the relevant issues of Jewish communal life and familiarity with the Jewish calendar
An appreciation for the diversity of Jewish identity, expression, and practice
Experience in professional setting with standard business tools
Willingness to learn new systems, programs, and skills as needed
Excellent interpersonal, organizational, written and oral communication skills
A dynamic and outgoing personality with the ability to build relationships with a variety of different audiences and ages
Self-motivated with a willingness to take initiative in a fast-paced, team environment
Demonstrated organizational skills, with attention to detail and proven ability to fill and manage a complex schedule requiring extensive local travel

The above job duties and responsibilities describe the general nature and level of work for employees in this position, but this is not intended as an exclusive or all-inclusive inventory of all duties required of employees in this job.

Interested? Send your resume and cover letter to info@jumpsparkatl.org ›

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Atlanta Anti-Semitism Summit Educates And Empowers Community

“After Pittsburgh, I sometimes I feel unsafe as a Jew.”

“Why do some people rationalize anti-Semitism while others speak up and fight the same actions?”

“People don’t like Jews.”

Overheard as attendees shared in breakout sessions at the Anti-Semitism Summit: Navigate, Communicate, Advocate on January 6, 2019, these comments highlight the community need for this program presented by Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Temple Sinai, and JumpSpark in partnership with 17 Jewish community organizations.

In response to the tragic mass shooting at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue last fall, and the growing number of anti-Semitic incidents both in the southeast and nationally, the summit examined the reality of anti-Semitism and how to communicate and advocate for the world we want to see.

David Hoffman, ADL Assistant Regional Director, began the summit by presenting a common understanding of the term “anti-Semitism” and how hate can escalate from attitudes to actions to violence. The ADL plays a role in fighting all forms of hate, including anti-Semitism, and reports a rise in the number of anti-Semitic incidents locally and nationally, including in K-12 schools and college campuses.

“Until recently, I rarely heard from parents about anti-Semitic incidents,” said Temple Sinai’s Rabbi Brad Levenberg. “This year it has skyrocketed. People report everything from subtle bias to overt acts. Parents want to know if they are overreacting, but I usually find their instincts are spot on.”

Separate teen and adult breakout groups explored how to communicate within our families about anti-Semitism, and taught how to report and respond to bias, hatred and injustice, whether at school, online, or in the community.

In groups by grade, teens gained awareness of their personal experiences with anti-Semitism, discussed how anti-Semitism exists in their lives, and developed skills to respond to anti-Semitism throw role-playing exercises.

Many teens left saying they were surprised to learn their peers have had similar experiences and were motivated to speak up when they encounter acts of anti-Semitism.

“It’s eye-opening to see that so many people have experienced anti-Semitism and we are not alone,” said one teen.

With nearly 200 parents and teens participating in the event held at Temple Sinai, summit organizers had no idea the demand was so high for such an event. Kelly Cohen, JumpSpark Director, said, “As we see from the large crowd that came to the summit, when we create programs and opportunities that speak authentically to the needs of our community, people come!” •

Visit our Resource Page › for tips and information from the Anti-Semitism Summit.

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Woman Undefined

Lili Stadler

Whenever prompted with the topic of sexuality and gender identification, I had never thought twice. I would simply brush off the subject since I had always been confident in who I was and who I felt that I was: a girl. I always thought that was a confusing conversation topic, thinking that there was not much to discuss. More clearly said, sexuality was always something simple to me. When preparing for the conversation of gender and sexuality with Dr. Joy Ladin and my peers of the Strong Women Fellowship, I did not believe my thoughts would change. But, seeing different perspectives and hearing the struggles and stories of my peers completely altered what being a “man” or “women” could be.

When you look up the word “woman” in the dictionary, you will find the definition, “an adult human female” or “a wife, girlfriend, or lover”, plus other varieties of that nature. But, I have realized that the dictionary definition of this word barely scratches the surface of what being a woman actually means.

When finishing her empowering story of bravery and transition, Dr. Joy Ladin prompted me and my peers with a question: “What was your experience of growing up as a girl?” To my surprise, the majority of responses to the question, including mine, were negative. We discussed in our conversation the topics that us, as teenage girls in the modern world, face, most of which were feelings of adversity and fear. A few examples included memories of my peers’ parents telling them to change because they were “showing too much”, them getting dress code violations for their bra straps and thighs showing, and their constant fear of slut shaming.

“What was your experience growing up as a girl?”

To my surprise, the majority of responses to the question, including mine, were negative.

Hearing these things, at first, made me feel comforted that I was not the only one who had gone through these things. But, after a while of discussion, I realized how negative this conversation was. I knew we all love being women, but the growing sense of negativity made me feel unsettled. From here, the conversation unintentionally turned into one about what it means to be a woman.

Joy started off this conversation with the topic of gender versus sexuality. She explained to us that these two things do not need to go hand in hand, nor do they have the same connotation to every individual. Once again, this was something I had never thought about before, so my mindset was transformed. I realized that all of those negative memories of growing up a girl made up who we had become. With further discussion, I was inspired that gender and sexuality are not as simple as I thought, and that two people with totally different experiences of being a women could still be defined as one.

We should not be defined by who we are categorized to be, but who we feel we are.

The beauty of the hardships of growing up in fear and shame is that we learn to overcome it and hopefully become who we feel we are inside. The story of Dr. Ladin, although completely unique to the stories of everyone participating in the conversation, led us to the conclusion that being a woman and growing up as a woman can be defined in an infinite amount of ways. We should not be defined by who we are categorized to be, but who we feel we are. •

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Teens and Parents Wrestle with Anti-Semitism

by Nina Rubin, first published by Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta ››

“After Pittsburgh, I sometimes I feel unsafe as a Jew.”

“My neighbor believes that all Jews are liberals.”

“My friends can’t understand why I don’t believe in Jesus.”

Those are a few of the comments we heard at JumpSpark’s Atlanta Anti-Semitism Summit: Navigate, Communicate, Advocate, a joint program with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and Temple Sinai in partnership with more than a dozen Jewish organizations.

Sparked by the massacre at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue, and the serious uptick in anti-Semitic incidents in our area and around the world, the Summit unpacked what we mean when we talk about anti-Semitism. Separate breakout groups for teens and parents focused on how to communicate within our families about anti-Semitism, and how to report and respond to bias, hatred and injustice, whether at school, online, or in the community.

“Until recently, I rarely heard from parents about anti-Semitic incidents,” said Temple Sinai’s Rabbi Brad Levenberg. “This year it has skyrocketed. People report everything from subtle bias to overt acts. Parents want to know if they are overreacting, but I usually find their instincts are spot on.”

Nearly 200 parents and teens participated in the Summit, and follow-up discussions are planned. Kelly Cohen, Director of JumpSpark — Atlanta’s initiative for Jewish teen engagement, said, “As we see from the large crowd that came to the Summit, when we create programs and opportunities that speak authentically to the needs of our community, people come!” •

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Strong Women Fellowship: For the Love of Pizza and Chris Hemsworth

Meeting the refugees from the Global Village Project was an amazing experience.

Rene Walter

When I had first arrived I wasn’t sure what to expect or who I would be meeting. I stepped into the room where all the girls were and saw teenagers sitting in chairs talking to my friends acting normal and telling jokes.

As I went to sit down and join in on the conversation I greeted everyone with a warm smile and a friendly greeting. Upon getting to know the girls and hearing their stories I realized I could relate to them on many levels. Then once we did the activity where we all listed things we have in common i realized there were a lot more things I hadn’t realized, like that we all didn’t like school and all loved pizza and Chris Hemsworth.

This overall experience was eye opening for me and I realized that just because these girls are from different parts of the world, we are all connected and similar in one way or another. I left that school with so many new friendships and so many new values to take with me. •

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Finding Connections As We Change The World

Every generation is controlled by the constant increasing pressure to change the world.

Millenials are constantly reminding us, Generation Z, that we are the ones that can make the biggest difference, not only for the present but also in the future. Although, changing the world seems like a pretty big task for a teenager. How are we supposed to do this? Where do we even start? Who is going to help me? So many questions and so many steps go into figuring out a way to change the world. But I have found the key, the first step to changing the world.

Make a connection. This may seem way too simple to be the key to changing the world but it is. The connection is the most important factor in the process of changing the world.

Mya Artzi

In our December Jumpspark Strong Women’s Fellowship › meeting, we met teen refugee girls from many different countries. This was absolutely amazing to me. We met them at the Global Village Project › , an organization that brings teen refugees together in order to prepare them for American high school. As I sat in the classroom, listening to 40 different girls close to my age from all over the world, I noticed that although we come from so many different backgrounds, we are all more similar than I could have ever imagined. We are all girls who are active on social media, who love Rihanna, who love a snow day, and who are just trying to get through high school. The conversation came easy and the laughter flowed throughout the room. Our connection was strong. Together, we felt more powerful than any comment, stare, judgement, or slur a person could say about our race, gender, ethnicity, or religion.

At the beginning of the program, we played a brief game to introduce ourselves to the group. Every JumpSpark member was paired with a refugee. As we went around the room introducing our partners, I sat in awe of the number of teens I was able to meet from so many different countries; countries like Rwanda, Congo, Malaysia, Afghanistan, and Syria. Syria. Wow. I am a Jew and the girl sitting in the table next to me is Syrian. I am officially and fully engaged, excited, and overwhelmed in such a good way, and ready to change the world.

My connection with Israel is a part of who I am. I have learned about the importance of my homeland since I was a young child, and my passion drove me abroad just last year as I attended high school in Israel for two months. This brief two-month journey during my sophomore year changed my life. I learned so much about Israel from its early history to current issues. One of Israel’s main issues right now is its relationship with Syria. The ongoing controversy and battles in war and in ethics between the countries has continued to increase over the years. It is a constant battle between the territories, the people, and the resources and it never seems to end. The only way to end this is to create peace, but how will we create peace if Israelis and Syrians won’t talk to each other? Because of the lack of connection between the people of both countries, to the people of each place, it seems that there is there is nothing to lose.

So this is where we as Gen Zers can step in. We are in charge of building those connections in hopes of one day possibly ending the fight. Today, 20 Jewish girls were able to make connections with three Syrian girls. The conversations we shared had nothing to do with our ethnicity, race, or religion. The conversations were solely based on our numerous, easily discovered commonalities, and we are were elated, surprised and thankful for our newfound friendships. Others might not have felt it as much as I did, but I believe that with this program we took a first step in changing the world. •