The Covenant Grants

B’nai Mitzvah Nature-Mentoring Rite of Passage Program

Organization: Wilderness Torah, Oakland, CA

Grant Year: 2010

Project Director: Zelig Golden

Type of Grant: Ignition

Grant Amount: $20,000 (1 year)

Website: http://wildernesstorah.org/

Environment
Informal Education
Teens

Wilderness Torah through the B’nai Mitzvah Nature-Mentoring Rite of Passage Program developed an initiative that serves Jewish youth ages 11-to-13 through experiential educational and personal development activities tying Jewish identity to the environment. Ignition Grantee Reflections: Impacts and Learnings
“Where are we now, what did we accomplish, and what have we learned?”

“This is not just your run-of-the-mill educational program. Programmatically, it really transforms kids for the rest of their lives… Since receiving the Ignition Grant B’naiture has grown substantially, now with 36 participants and 8 staff mentors. We are not planning to scale with a publishable curriculum and training program (future, dependent on funding). We are also now a significant part of the national conversation about the future of Bar/Bat Mitzvah education due to the success of this program.”

—Zelig Golden, Project Director