Mission
The Jewish Student Union of St. Louis (JSU) inspires teens to take pride in their Jewish identity and to engage Jewishly by making Judaism meaningful and relevant for all Jewish teenagers.
Strategy Statement
JSU provides a variety of programs and services including: school clubs, classes, scholarships, inspirational and Jewish identity strengthening trips all to motivate Jewish youth and teens to increase their involvement in Jewish activities and their connection to Israel. JSU’s long term goal is to increase their engagement in the Jewish community as adults. JSU funds programming via a network of generous donors whose support allows the flexibility to be responsive to changing ways to engage teens. JSU is a “powerhouse” in building teen affiliation with the Jewish community and identification as Jews and with Israel in ways that are meaningful to each individual teen.
The How
By bringing weekly JSU clubs to the teens in their own school environments, JSU has access to thousands of teens, over 75% of who are unaffiliated and under-engaged Jewishly. Despite the continued growth of this critical demographic, these teens were virtually invisible to, and beyond the reach of, the Jewish community prior to the advent of JSU.
By providing Jewish teens the opportunity to view and engage their Judaic heritage through a prism of modernity and relevance, they are inspired to become more engaged Jewishly. By introducing them to the many Jewish teen organizations and Jewish involvement opportunities available within the St. Louis Jewish community, JSU facilitates their engagement in teen programming within our community through BBYO, NCSY, JCC, USY, NFTY, Israeli Scouts and other Jewish youth oriented organizations. They develop a strong sense of Jewish identity, relationship to the State of Israel and a connection to the broader Jewish community. Upon graduation, JSU assists their smooth transition into Jewishly active college life via our partnerships with Hillel, Maimonides, and other similar Jewish student groups on campus.
In addition to the regularly scheduled school club meetings, JSU sponsors the Galia & Milton Movitz Senator John Danforth Israel Scholars course, the Jewish Scholars Fellowship, Friday Night Live Shabbat Dinners and Onegs, Jewish Holiday programs, the annual President’s Day Weekend Jewish Footprint trip, the Jerusalem Journey (TJJ) Israel summer experience (TJJ is a month long trip for as low as $974 all inclusive) and much more.
