Life was meant for good friends and great adventures.
A lot of milestones and major life decisions often happen in your 20s and 30s. Finding others to go through this part of your journey with can be difficult, and forming new relationships while everyone seems to be at different points in their lives can seem daunting. However, the Young Adult program at the Mayerson JCC wants people in that age group to know they are not alone. Those that run the program are working hard to ensure that they are making those connections through events and programming.
That’s where the 20s and 30s Professional Lulu Gordon comes in.
“The Young Adult program creates a community,” Gordon said. “It’s a broad range of ages, with people in different places in their lives. It’s a great way to connect people during all those life-changing moments.”
Gordon started at the J recently and hopes to reinvigorate the Young Adult program through group hangouts and other partnerships.
With Gordon at the helm, the Young Adults program is already planning events to get people together. A Young Adult Pool Party was thrown as an end-of-summer celebration at the J and had a great turnout.
Gordon mentioned that someone who moved here recently attended the pool party because they saw it as a great opportunity to connect with others in the community.
“We also want to be mindful of those who don’t have the ability to join last-minute events, and we want to make sure that we have events for everyone,” Gordon said. “We’ll have everything from happy hours to educational and professional development events.” Director of Cultural Arts & Engagement Frances Kahan is also excited to see what the future holds for the Young Adult program.
“I know Lulu is excited to hop into this role and plan fun and engaging events,” Kahan said. “Because of COVID, it was difficult to be together, but now we are building back and moving forward.”
As the Mayerson JCC serves as a sort of town square for people in the community, there was an intentional dedication of effort to work with other young adult groups, including ish, Jewish Federation’s YAD, RUACH at Rockdale, and others.
“The focus is to create opportunities for this generation to connect and develop lasting friendships,” Kahan said.
Gordon and Kahan stress the importance of having this community available. As people in that age group themselves, they see an opportunity to create friendships.
“We want everyone to feel welcomed and invited to join us,” Gordon said. “This is a very inclusive group of people, and we can’t wait to see everyone at our events and programs!”
Upcoming events for people in their 20s and 30s include Sippin’ in the Sukkah and Latkapalooza, which is returning this year after a COVID hiatus.
