His ‘Motiv’ is engaging Jewish teens as volunteers

By Darren Schwartz

Darren Schwartz

SAN DIEGO —  I am a 37 year-old married father of two. I am a native San Diegan having grown up on the coast and now raising a family in East County. Other than a three-year stint as a legislative aide in Sacramento, I have served as a Jewish communal professional for almost 15 years. I have worked for two JCCs, the Jewish Federation and the Jewish Community Foundation. I have been involved in programming, fundraising, coalition building and visioning for the future. I have led both legacy conversations and singles speed-dating. I have been sent on four missions to Israel and participated in three Jewish fellowship programs.

No matter how far I go in my career I am always reminded of what set me down this path. Despite growing up in a Jewish home, attending Sunday school and spending my summers at the JCC – it was my experiences in high school that peaked my interests in exploring my Jewish identity. During these pivotal teenage years I was afforded the opportunity, through Jewish Organizations in San Diego, to find and develop my interests in social justice and leadership.  I didn’t realize it then – but my passion wasn’t just developing for my own personal interests –– my passion was also developing for the community that afforded me these opportunities – the San Diego Jewish community.

I now find myself leading an initiative aimed at creating the same opportunities for the next generation of Jewish teens. As the Director of the San Diego Jewish Teen Initiative, I am tasked with understanding the current makeup of our Jewish teen community, working with 25 existing Jewish teen programs and helping teens navigate to experiences that align with their interests. All of this while knowing that there are approximately 7,000 Jewish high school teens in San Diego and only about 10% of them are choosing to engage in any programming connected to the Jewish community.

I would like to invite you to join me on a journey as I unpack the challenges and opportunities facing Jewish teen engagement. Together we will explore what our community has to offer and how it compares to other opportunities vying for teens’ attention. I want to introduce you to a diverse group of teens and how they find meaning and connection in our community. I will spotlight positive examples of communal collaborations and opportunities for communal growth.

In the Jewish value of ldor v’dor from generation to generation, it is important to understand how teens are choosing to interact with the community they will soon inherit. Teen engagement is not a check box to show continuity of programming, it is an opportunity to reach a key demographic at a formative juncture in their personal identity formation.

Of all the positions I have held and all that I have observed of our San Diego Jewish community, no issue is more vital than understanding and engaging Jewish teens. I look forward to surfacing many of the issues that face this key demographic and how our community is working to address them. I look forward to your feedback and inquiries on this journey.

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Schwartz is the director of Motiv, a program connecting Jewish teens to meaningful volunteer activities.  He may be contacted via darren@motivsandiego.org