Center City Woman Starting Group for ‘Just Jewish Adults’

According to a 2019 population study by the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, there were approximately 104,000 Jewish adults in the area between the ages of 40 and 65, too old to be considered young adults and too young to be seniors.

That demographic accounted for approximately a third of the adult population — but there was, and still is, little programming for people in that age range who are unmarried or do not have children.

That’s what Center City resident Stacey Lasky is looking to change with a new social group.

“At some point, we just don’t fit the Young Adult (22-40) demographic, nor do we fit the (Retired) demographic,” Lasky wrote in a Facebook post promoting the group. “We are looking for anyone who considers themselves ‘Just Jewish Adults.’”

Lasky created a WhatsApp group for individuals to discuss possible programming in Philadelphia for the target demographic, regardless of synagogue or other Jewish organizational affiliations.

The issue of a programming shortage is one Lasky first noticed with some friends while living in Atlanta. They realized that as they started aging out of the young professional/young adult groups, there wasn’t much Jewish activity designed for them.

“We were no longer young adults, and we were now in our late 30s or early 40s, and we weren’t married with kids. So, there was no programming,” Lasky explained. “There was programming for young adults and there was programming for mature adults, but there wasn’t any programming for adults, and the adult programming was basically for parents with their kids. So, there was just no way to be social and Jewish and just not feel like you’re too old for that group and too young for that group.”

So Lasky and her friends started organizing their own events with other people they knew in the Atlanta Jewish community. They would do single or “married without kids” social events to meet more people in the same demographic.

Lasky said she moved to Philadelphia eight years ago and found a similar situation where the area had great young adult programming through groups like Tribe 12, and lots of content for families and seniors, but not much for those who didn’t fit into any of those categories.

Lasky added that the new group is working on building momentum through the WhatsApp group, social media and by word of mouth.

Her promotional Facebook post has gained some traction with over a dozen commenters expressing interest and agreement with the idea that the “Just Jewish Adults” demographic needs more to do.

The group has started making plans for a potential Chanukah celebration on Dec. 18 in South Philly or a watch party for the Philadelphia Eagles-Washington Commanders game on Dec. 20.

Lasky said it’s important to provide avenues for connection across all segments of the Jewish community.

“When people don’t feel the sense of community that they need because they aren’t being supported by the Jewish community and providing them with social outings the way that they do for others … [then] they don’t continue to be part of the community, and they find their social experiences elsewhere, and you lose them,” Lasky said.

The initiative is now getting support from the Federation’s Center City Kehillah. That support could come in the form of Federation microgrants to subsidize programming for two or more organizations collaborating to put on events for the group.

As for what the group could do together, Lasky doesn’t have a definitive answer yet. She said there doesn’t need to be a core group of participants doing the same events together every time.

“I think it could be anything. I think it could be all the same things that young adults do, or mature adults do, just with people our own age. Like, we can have a day of hiking,” Lasky said. “[We could be] having a happy hour and then going to a concert at the Kimmel Center. Everybody has different interests, and it can meet everybody’s needs.”

Lasky said one of her goals is to raise awareness that there are people who are “Just Jewish Adults” — and that they are interested in connecting with others their age.

There’s isn’t a measurable point of what success would look like with the group, she said, but that the concept will be successful if it gives people avenues to interact and form bonds with other Jews.

“The success would be that people are just being able to organically do things together,” Lasky said.