ST. LOUIS — A Jewish nonprofit dedicated to educating St. Louis area teens will open its first center this weekend after years of planning.
The Jewish Student Union (JSU) provides Jewish middle and high schoolers a chance to learn about their culture, build community and explore their Jewish identity through a variety of programs and activities.
The roughly 4,000-square-foot renovated building will serve as a center for communal Jewish teen life and learning, expanding on the programs to accommodate the hundreds of teens who are already involved with JSU.
“What this house has done is it allowed us to expand both the depth and the breadth of our programming,” Rabbi Mike Rovinsky said, executive director of JSU.
He is looking forward to having a place where teens and JSU staff can call home.
The JSU Staenberg House is located at 8037 Delmar Boulevard.
The organization began more than 20 years ago by Rovinsky. JSU leaders talk with students at both public and private schools about challenges they may face, such as stress and bullying, and present those topics through a spiritual lens.
While JSU started for the Jewish community, the nonprofit has seen a large number of non-Jews joining because they are facing similar challenges, Rovinsky said.
The organization has experienced “extraordinary growth” over the years, with 522 students participating across many middle and high school clubs in St. Louis during the 2023-24 academic year.
JSU also hosts out-of-school programs such as holiday meals, social gatherings, college-accredited courses and more.
“We’ve always been limited to the size of our events that we can have,” Rovinsky said. “If we did a Friday night Shabbat dinner, we could have 15 people, maybe, and we’d have to find someone to host it. Now, we can have one hundred kids.”
JSU Staenberg House will offer:
- Classrooms for college-accredited courses on Jewish philosophy, history of Israel, antisemitism and Holocaust studies, in addition to homework help, SAT prep, driver’s ed and more
- Fully operational kitchen for culinary programs equipped with concessions
- Arcade and game room
- Youth synagogue for teen-led prayer services and religious activities
- Overnight accommodations for out-of-town speakers and educators
“Basically, anything that a kid needs, we’ll be able to provide,” Rovinsky said.
He added that kosher meals will be offered one night per week. The community will have the opportunity to rent out the center for parties too.
Sunday’s grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony will start at 1:15 p.m. for VIP donors, and the public program will begin at 2 p.m. The event is followed by an open house until 4 p.m.
JSU is funded by the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, The Kranzberg Foundation, Lubin-Green Foundation, Staenberg Foundation, The Martin Silk Foundation, NCSY and generous donors.
For more information about JSU, contact Rovinsky at 314-498-6279 or email RabbiMike@jsustl.org.