Gesher City - Young Jewish Boston Group Events

Join a Cluster!

AGE-BASED Late 20's and Early 30's "Are you in your late 20’s or early 30’s and looking to meet new people in a fun, relaxed and social atmosphere? Do you ever want to do things around town and just don’t have anyone to do them with? Do you like movies, theater, museums, sports, restaurants, coffee, etc.? If the answer is "yes", then this cluster is for you! This cluster has been a success. There are over 200 members in this cluster. So… Why wait?… Just register and you can enjoy the company of many wonderful, intelligent, funny and definitely friendly people."
Mid-Twenties You're no longer fresh out of college, but maybe you've been working for a few years or you just finished grad school. You don't feel old yet, and you shouldn't - you're still young! But you don't necessarily like to hang out with those "kids" who just finished college. If so, this group is for you! This cluster is for Jewish young adults (aged 23-28) who are trying to find their place in a Jewish group in Boston. We'll try different Boston area restaurants, trivia nights, and enjoy drinks at happy hours to relieve us from the stress of being a 20-something. I would love to hear any ideas and/or suggestions you may have for events! Feel free to e-mail me anytime, and I hope to see you at a future event! I'm looking into planning fun events such as kayaking, softball games, museums, Shabbat dinners, and hiking, too!
GENERAL INTEREST Alternative/Independent Arts "Films at the MFA, Brattle, Kendall. Theater at ART and URT. Puppetry, poetry, performance art. Experimental music, local bands, bands with accordions, world music. Alternative comedy. Events in the immediate Boston area and perhaps further out in Massachusetts and the rest of New England. Interested in art with a point, however obscure that point is? Come on board!"
Books & Brunch "Every month or two, spend a Sunday morning discussing books over brunch. We choose books together, sometimes with Jewish themes or authors, but often not."
Crafts "Are you looking for a creative outlet? How about some company for your craft projects? Do you want to learn some new techniques for an existing hobby? Or make a birthday present for that special someone? If so, then this is the cluster for you! We'll explore a variety of crafts, including soap making, knitting, paint your own pottery, picture frame decorating, jewelry making, and more. All skill levels are welcome, so what are you waiting for? Get your creative juices flowing and sign up today"
International "Do you enjoy sampling international cuisine, viewing foreign films, or learning about international issues? If so, this is the cluster for you!"
Israel Welcome to the Israel Cluster of Gesher City! We are a group of young professionals who enjoy being in an Israeli atmosphere. We get together to hang out with fellow Israelites to learn about varying aspects of Israeli society, and to have a good time. Please feel free to email us at GCIsraelCluster@gmail.com. We hope to see your shining faces at our programming! L'hitraot (see you soon), Eliad, Israel Cluster Coordinator
Outdoor "This cluster will include activities from day ski trips and rock climbing in the winter, to hiking and canoeing in the spring and fall, and much more. We will explore different areas and activities in the Boston area and sometimes venture into other parts of New England. No experience is necessary for our trips, and all levels are welcome. "
Vegetarians and Vegans "Choosing to not eat animals (and sometimes all animal products) is, for many people, a philosophy of life. This cluster is for people who want to hang out with others who share this philosophy, without having to sit next to the person who ordered the big bloody steak... We'll share thoughts, ideas, concerns, and just a meat free good time :) Events will include potlucks at members' homes, picnics, and scoping out vegetarian restaurants around town. Look forward to seeing you at an event soon!"
Writing Do you find yourself staring at a blank page and wondering what it will take to fill it up with words? Love to write, thinking about writing, or just curious about how to start? Then the Writing Cluster is for you. We will be talking about writing, learning how to write and critique each others work, with the goal of producing work we will be proud to share with each other and the community.
NEIGHBORHOOD CLUSTERS Cambridge/Somerville "For people who live in, work in, or just like being in Cambridge/Somerville: Join our cluster if you'd like to meet new friends and hang out with old ones! Eat some good food, be active and play outside, discuss, watch a great movie, mingle, laugh, and enjoy all that Cambridge/Somerville has to offer! This cluster has two new coordinators and we promise not to be cliquey or boring. E-mail with questions or suggestions for events. See you at an event soon!"
SOCIAL JUSTICE General Social Justice List Add your description here

Clusters

The Community Service Cluster poses quite formally at their first event, January 2007

Over the last year, GesherCity conducted a thorough assessment of the role of GesherCity, the new member initiative, and the Cluster program. Through surveys and conversations and with additional input from members, volunteers, and staff, we are now implementing changes to the Cluster program and to GesherCity. Some of these changes may impact you. They include:

· GesherCity will be focusing solely on programs that welcome newcomers to Boston and “bridge” them to other organizations. For this purpose, Clusters as they have been established will be modified. CJP is still committed to offering small group, low barrier experiences, but they will no longer be under the Clusters name.

· We are maintaining three interest-based Clusters (Israel, Outdoor, and Books and Brunch) and piloting a new program with these groups. These groups will be using Facebook to recruit new members, publicize events, and build community for their groups. We will assist these groups with planning and publicity and members of these groups will receive specific instructions on how to transition to the new model. If the new system is successful, we will open additional interest-based groups.

Links to the three groups on Facebook

Jewish Boston 20s and 30s Israel Group

Jewish Boston 20s and 30s Outdoor Group

Jewish Boston 20s and 30s Bookclub Group

Some of the Clusters are also transitioning and continuing on their own using Facebook. Here are links to those groups:

Vegetarians

Alt/Indy Arts (Don't have link yet, stay tuned)

Cambridge/Somerville

· We are transitioning all neighborhood and age based clusters to become part of the LEADS program. LEADS has been a successful CJP program for young adults to meet in small groups in people’s homes by neighborhood for socializing and learning about Jewish identity and the work of CJP. We will be collaborating with the LEADS program to incorporate the Cluster model, focusing on small groups of individuals formed around neighborhoods and ages, and will ensure LEADS programming also meets the goals of bridging people to organizations for young adults beyond CJP’s options. At the end of an eight-week LEADS season, participants will receive follow-up attention to help them take next steps with information about 45 partner organizations.

· The GesherCity website will go offline in October and we will be moving to our new home at www.JewishBoston.com/20s30s. We will continue to use this, Facebook, Twitter, and a weekly e-news to publicize events and connect young adults to all things Jewish Boston.

If you have any questions about these changes, please let me know. If you would like to learn more or sign up for LEADS, please reply with an email. If you’re interested in any of the three interest-based groups, then also please contact me.

It has been a great pleasure to work with each Cluster and Coordinator and these changes will further help us meet our goals to bridge young adults to one another, to a variety of organizations, and to the community on a whole.

AGE-BASED

GENERAL INTEREST

NEIGHBORHOOD CLUSTERS

SOCIAL JUSTICE