The Rose Community Foundation is launching a $900,000 initiative called MazelTot on Thursday to help young Jewish families connect with tradition and with each other as they look to the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah.
The Jewish community in the seven-county metro Denver area is growing faster than the general population and full of newcomers.
Only 20 percent of Jews living here were born here.
Almost half of those under 40 have lived here less than 10 years, according to a 2007 study managed by the Allied Jewish Federation. And a third of those people ages 25 to 30 have moved here in the past five years.
“There are a lot of families with young children still trying to navigate Jewish life in this area,” said Sarah Indyk, manager of the Rose Community Foundation’s Jewish Life Initiatives.
There are about 5,300 Jewish households with children under age 5.
And about 60 percent of the entire Jewish population has not had any formal association with any local Jewish institution.
“We’re not satisfied with that,” said Lisa Farber Miller, a Rose senior program officer.
Part of the initiative is a website, , which brings together information on services and activities provided by 29 Jewish organizations.
Previously there had been no clearinghouse for this information. The website goes live on Thursday.
Another element of the initiative is a foundation grant of $856,000, which will pay for discounts and free offers — up to $1,000 per household — for these activities and services.
Upon registration, discounts will be available for classes, concerts, dinners and other events, preschool, camp, retreats and even independent celebrations of holidays, for which ritual and song leaders — even cooking instructors — can travel to the homes of this highly diverse and dispersed Jewish population.
Participating venues and organizations include the Robert E. Loup Jewish Community Center, Hillel Academy, Judaism Your Way, The Jewish Experience, Congregation Emanuel and 24 other partners between Longmont and Denver’s southern suburbs.
“We know that many, many Jewish families are seeking connection around the holidays,” Miller said. “We’re also very concerned about the effect of a bad economy on Jewish organizations and on families’ access to them.”
For example, Miller said, the area probably needs more programs for expectant parents.
“But first we need to find the expectant parents,” she said. “And we want to help our parents find each other.”
Michele Scharg is part of the foundation’s Mommy Network, formed to spread the word about MazelTot. Scharg said this kind of community- building is important.
“I think the program is going to be fabulous,” Scharg said. “It’s going to be even better in the years to come.”
Scharg said she has been involved in programs such as Jewish Baby University, as well as in music, art and sign language courses.
“I’ve made some amazing friends through all this,” Scharg said.
Miller said MazelTot is a one-of-a-kind program. The foundation researched carefully — looking for something to copy — but couldn’t find anything like it in the country.
“This is a big experiment,” Miller said.
In the greater Denver area there are 47,500 households in which at least one parent or head of household is Jewish. There are 117,200 people living in these households — and 83,900 of them are Jews.
About half of all Jewish children here live in interfaith households.
“We feel like the Jewish community needs to be there for them in their formative years,” Miller said.
Electa Draper: 303-954-1276 or edraper@denverpost.com
