Current Community Needs

Avodah builds Jewish community among people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, trains and deploys Avodah alumni to serve as Jewish educators for our local community on issues of Jewish justice values and local issues of poverty, partners with other local organizations to mobilize our community to address systemic poverty and inequality in our community and city, and serves as a thought leader and convener among Jewish and social justice organizations who have a shared goal of making our city a better and more equitable place to live.

The goal of the BBYO Connect program is to provide opportunities to connect teens after the Bar and Bat Mitzvah year when affiliation tends to drop off. Around 150 students per year typically participate. BBYO Connect has successfully served as a feeder for the local high school BBYO program which serves more than 220 students per year. In normal years, 14 events are offered annually. Offerings have been moved online due to the pandemic.

The Kansas City Community Kollel provides a variety of non-denominational Jewish educational classes to learners of all ages, backgrounds, and cognitive abilities. A particular focus is reaching underserved seniors and special needs adults.

The Florence Melton School is a text-based Jewish studies curriculum created by Hebrew University. Since 1994, the program has provided premiere Jewish education to adults in the Kansas City Jewish community.

The economic crisis is impacting the financial stability of HBHA families who face changes in their employment status and ability to pay tuition. HBHA believes they will need at least a 20% increase in scholarship dollars, or $140,000. Last year, the school distributed $700,316 in financial aid dollars. For 2019-2020, 208 students were enrolled in HBHA. Of these, 115 students from 62 families received financial aid.

The J’s mission is to be inclusive regardless of individual financial resources. The J works hard to raise funds to provide scholarship dollars so that those demonstrating financial need may experience their exceptional programming. With the current economic climate, fall scholarship needs are projected to be even greater this year.

The Midwest Center for Holocaust Education is a stable, well-run agency that has a unique role in the community. They are seeking funding for their staff historian, Dr. Shelly Kline. She is responsible for overall content, lectures, and teaching guides which are shared with area educators.

Launched in 2014, Moishe House Kansas City is part of a national organization which seeks to create a vibrant Jewish community for young adults in each city they serve. In exchange for rent subsidy, young professionals plan and execute programs for their peers. Moishe House KC is currently located in a South Plaza condo. Due to the pandemic, programming is currently taking place online.

JSU provides informal Jewish educational programming to students at Blue Valley High, Blue Valley North, Blue Valley West, Blue Valley Northwest, Shawnee Mission East, Shawnee Mission South, Barstow and Leawood Middle School. Because the program takes place at school, non-Jewish members can also participate, which helps build bridges with the general community. Students from different schools are provided opportunities to connect with one another.