We believe that meaningful Jewish experiences at critical lifecycle moments create lifelong Jewish connection. Young adults & families with young children are at pivotal life stages, often seeking deeper involvement with their Jewish communities.
Young Adults
Young adults are at a formative moment in their lives – seeking relationships, traditions & community of their own. We believe that meaningful Jewish experiences during this window will lead to lasting community involvement. In the East Bay we have nearly 13,000 households with a minimum of 15,000 pre-family young adults ages 23-40 (38% of our population). Of this group, approximately 30% are participating in Jewish programs today.
Families with Young Kids
Preschool represents another critical opportunity for lifelong Jewish community engagement. This early childhood stage is a gateway into Jewish life—one where children are undergoing tremendous development & where parents are not only extremely involved in their children’s lives, but also eager to create meaning, relationships & community. It is also one of the few Jewish lifecycle moments where religious & secular organizations are on an even playing field: whether you chose Temple Sinai Preschool or Oakland Montessori, everyone pays for preschool. Exposure to Jewish values & community during this window creates a foundation from which lifelong Jewish community engagement can flow.
In the East Bay we have over 8,500 households with a minimum of 10,000 kids ages 0-5 (27% of our population, which is the highest in the Bay Area). Despite this, we’re only serving 5% of eligible kids with Jewish preschool (the national average is 25%). All of our 12 local preschools are at capacity today. There’s extremely limited infant & toddler care, despite the fact that 67% of households have two working parents. We’re serving about 25% of our population with Jewish programming, but 70% of these organizations are operating under capacity. Finally, programing is not evenly distributed across the East Bay. 44% of our families with young kids live in Contra Costa County, but only 30% of organizations serve this group.
For our family, this could not have been more true. We met some of our closest friends nearly 30 years ago when our youngest, Daniela, was a toddler. Fast forward 30 years – these are the same people who danced the hora at our bat-mitzvahs, hugged us tight after losing beloved members of our families and watched the next generation have kids of their own. These lifelong friendships began with young families and a desire for meaning and belonging & translated to deep, meaningful & lasting community.
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We hired Rosov Consulting to create a map of East Bay Jewish life.