By Shuli Karkowsky
As we begin 2023, I can’t help but reflect on what an incredible year Moving Traditions had in 2022 thanks to supporters like you.
And while it’s nearly impossible to make a list that conveys the depth of relationships and content Moving Traditions invested in this year, I wanted to share 9 top highlights:
9. Honoring our visionary Founding CEO, Emerita, Deborah Meyer with the newly named Meyer-Gottesman Kol Koleinu Teen Feminist Fellowship, so that she forever remains a foundational part of this organization
8. Engaging 5,750 preteens and teens through Moving Traditions programs – including our B-Mitzvah Family Education Program, Teen Groups, and Kulam for Hebrew High Schools
7. Partnering with 167 synagogues, JCCs, and other Jewish communal organizations across North America to operate our suite of innovative programs – building an ecosystem of support including 215 educators and 4,875 parents
6. Selecting 52 inspirational teen fellows paired with 24 talented adult mentors to join the 2022-23 cohort of Meyer-Gottesman Kol Koleinu Teen Feminist Fellowship
5. Hosting four webinars as part of Raising Up Teens with Moving Traditions, a series of free webinars for parents of Jewish youth on topics including reproductive justice, navigating risky behaviors, demystifying gender language, and more
4. Releasing a new strategic plan, Moving Forward: Our Next Generation, with an ambitious goal to double our impact on Jewish teens over the next three years
3. Launching a new and improved website that makes it easier to find what’s most pertinent to you, stay in the know with our responsive curricula and resources, and sign up for upcoming events
2. Announcing a new exciting pilot program to prepare teens for bold leadership and activism, Kumi: An Anti-Oppression Teen Leadership Experience (accepting applications through January 15!)
1. It’s almost too obvious to say, but my #1 highlight of 2022 was quite personal: Having the honor of being named the CEO of Moving Traditions in January 2022
They say about parenting that the days are long but the years are short, and the metaphor comfortably extends to my first year at Moving Traditions. On one hand, the time flew by in an instantaneous blur of joyful but intense work. On the other, I joke that I can no longer remember a time I didn’t work at Moving Traditions. This role instantly felt so familiar, so much like home. And that is because Moving Traditions, its staff, its board, and all the people who teach with us and support us are everything I had hoped they would be when I took this job: warm, welcoming, intellectually curious, inclusive, and kind.
I’m blown away by all that we’ve done together to embolden Jewish teens to thrive.
And thanks to our generous supporters like you, we raised more than $2.7M from individuals and foundations in our end-of-year campaign, which will help us reach even more youth this year.
I am hopeful that in 2023, we will support the wellbeing of even more Jewish youth, surround them with caring circles of support, and provide them with the tools to make our world a better place.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your support, participation, and partnership.