Phyllis Adler

Denver, Colorado

Votes for Phyllis Adler: 895

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Tell us about your nominee. Why should he or she be recognized as a Jewish Community Hero?

Phyllis is the director of Stepping Stones Family, a program for interfaith families. Over twenty years she has built the school from its first class of 28 students to serve 400 participants annually today. Phyllis has developed life long relationships with hundreds of families and helped them to find their place in the Jewish community. Her guidance, wisdom and affection have created a non-judgmental environment in which intermarried families can explore their Jewish heritage. The power of this program is demonstrated by the high level of involvement her alumni families have in the Jewish community. Her work has strengthened the Jewish people, helping intermarried families to create Jewish homes and to choose Judaism as the religious identity for their family. Stepping Stones has a dramatic success rate; seventy percent of the children who graduate from the program identify as Jews and continue to participate in local Jewish life. Their families engage through synagogues, Jewish camping, trips to Israel, Federation giving, Jewish board participation, and more. Phyllis has expanded the program to touch and be touched by every aspect of the Denver Jewish community. Every Jewish organization and agency proudly embraces and integrates these families.

What problem did your nominee identify in the community that needed to be solved? How has your nominee's efforts made a difference for others?

A 1980 demographic study found that the Denver area had the highest interfaith rate in the country, 50%. Instead of seeing a problem, the community welcomed ways to make this an opportunity. In response to that bold vision, Stepping Stones was created, a program dedicated to educating, supporting and integrating interfaith families into the Jewish community. Stepping Stones started as a two-year tuition free program for school age children of unaffiliated interfaith families. Under Phyllis' guidance the program has grown dramatically. What began as a program of Jewish education aimed only at school age children has expanded to younger and older participants to now include pre school children as well as parents and grandparents. In her effort to welcome couples even before they have children, Phyllis added discussion groups where couples can explore their individual religions and cultures in order to make a decision about the religious identity of their home and children. It has become an intergenerational embrace of interfaith families.