Erin Goldfarb lives in Evergreen, so driving to a get-together in Denver’s Central Park neighborhood on a Monday evening took a fair amount of determination. But when she finally walked into Dina Silverman’s home, she was greeted by more than 25 other guests, all of whom had three things in common—they wanted to connect with their local Jewish community, they filled out a questionnaire on the JEWISHcolorado website, and they have heard back from someone in JEWISHcolorado’s Connectors Program.
The need for a Connectors Program had long been the topic of conversation at JEWISHcolorado’s Women’s Philanthropy Committee. Then, global events prompted Silverman to “raise my hand” and get the program off the ground.
Dina Silverman
“After October 7, the need for connection was so much greater,” she says. “For new people especially, it was even more important to find a way to plug into the Jewish community in those months.”
Working with Silverman, JEWISHcolorado’s digital team added a short questionnaire on the Jco homepage under “Connect,” designed for “newcomers” seeking to connect with the Jewish community. Those filling out the questionnaire are either new to the Denver area, thinking about moving to Denver, or have been living here for a while but are now wanting to have more connection to the Jewish community.
At the same time, Silverman recruited a cohort of 13 Connectors—those who are very plugged into the local Jewish community and are willing to help newcomers get oriented. A few days after the website form went live on May 2, the first person filled it out. Silverman matched the person with a Connector who called them and started a conversation.
Since May, 60 people have filled out the form. In the case of Erin Goldfarb, Silverman matched her with the Connectors Program co-chair Brandi Wolff. For Goldfarb, who moved to Evergreen from LA two years ago and is still working remotely at her LA job, this meant that she was able to make a real, human connection in the community where she now lives.
“I had a large Jewish community in LA, so I reached out to JEWISHcolorado because it looked cool, filled out the form, and heard from Brandi,” Goldfarb said. “I made an instant friend, and without her, I might never have come to a JEWISHcolorado event.”
The matchmaker and a perfect match
Silverman describes her role in the Connectors Program as “100% matchmaker.” She reviews the information people submit and tries to match with a connector who is “a good fit.”
“This is not rocket science,” Silverman says with a laugh. “People are so grateful. They meet one person, and that person introduces them to more people, and those people make more introductions. It just makes a world of difference.”
In the case of Mary Ann Weiss and Carly Black, the match Silverman made can only be described as “beshert.”
Black grew up in a family that took their Jewishness seriously. Her 65-year-old mother makes challah every Friday for Shabbat dinner, never missing a week, fulfilling a pledge she made to G-d if Carly’s life was spared after she experienced near-fatal appendicitis when she was in seventh grade. But when the Black family moved to Denver from St. Louis three years ago, they had difficulty finding a Jewish community where they felt they belonged.
Carly Black’s Family (Root+Wander Colorado Photography)
“Then October 7 happened, and I said, ‘I want some Jewish people in my life,’” Black says. “And on top of that, my eight-year-old son said to me, ‘Why don’t we do Shabbat like Bubbe and Papa do?’”
Black started searching on social media, found the Jco Connect form, and filled it out. When the phone rang, it was Mary Ann Weiss on the other end.
Weiss is a classic example of the adage, “If you want something done, ask a busy person.” She works as a philanthropy advisor and has two young children, but she agreed to be a Connector because she had been on the receiving end of good experiences in the Colorado Jewish community.
She worked at JCC Ranch Camp, and when she was in her twenties, lived at Moishe House Denver where she met her husband. When she moved her young family to Denver, she became involved with PJ Library, and when PJ Library Manager Bethany Friedlander asked her to serve as PJ Library Family Connector for people new to the area or the neighborhood, she agreed to arrange quarterly get-togethers. When she had the chance to join the Connectors Program for newcomers, she didn’t hesitate.
“I wanted to get involved as a way to give back,” Weiss says. “This was a great way to help welcome people to Colorado’s thriving and inclusive Jewish community.”
Brandi Wolff and Dina Silverman, Connectors Program co-chairs
Weiss and Black connected for the first time the evening before Rosh Hashanah. Weiss suggested that Black come with her to services the next day at the Jewish Outreach Initiative (JOI). That single invitation was another perfect match. At JOI, Black has found a community where she feels comfortable.
“It’s opened the door to a whole new world for me, and I never would have found it without Mary Ann,” she says. “She really figured out who I was. I just wish more people knew about the JEWISHcolorado Connectors Program.”
Newcomers come in all forms
At the newcomers gathering in her home, Silverman breaks the ice with activities that appeal to a wide variety of people—from empty nesters who have moved to be close to grandchildren to young professionals who have come here for their careers, from people who have just arrived in Colorado to those who have lived here for many years but want to reconnect with community. Sometimes, the first step just means meeting other Jewish people, Silverman says. In other cases, people want to see what kind of options they have affiliating with Jewish organizations.
If Silverman hears from young people in their twenties and thirties who are single, she refers them to Katherine Podolak in JEWISHcolorado’s Young Adult Division (YAD) so they can engage with other young people.
Silverman would like to have more Connectors—especially since she has been mildly surprised how many people have found the Jco Connect form. For some Connectors, the only commitment is a phone call. But others have found new friends and bonds in the process of helping others.
As for Silverman, who also falls into the category of the busy person who gets things done, the Connectors Program has been gratifying in ways she didn’t fully expect.
“I was looking for something substantive to do as part of Women’s Philanthropy,” she says. “This project has checked that box because we get real, tangible results and hear amazing success stories which feels so gratifying. It brings people back into the fold, exposes people to JEWISHcolorado, gives Connectors the opportunity to get involved, and helps to grow our already vibrant Jewish community”.