FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Release Date: February 28, 2022
For further information, contact:
Jory Hanselman-Mayschak, CEO of BaMidbar
720-835-2937 | JoryH@BaMidbarTherapy.org
After six years as a fiscally sponsored program of Ramah in the Rockies, BaMidbar is thrilled to announce its official designation as an independent 501(c)(3) Public Charity. In 2021, the U.S. Surgeon General advised urgent action to address the youth mental health crisis exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, stating that the present and future wellbeing of our country depends on how we support and invest in the mental health and wellness of the next generation. While mental illness, trauma, and addiction are as common in the Jewish community as in the rest of society, there are limited resources within a Jewish framework. BaMidbar was founded in 2016 to address this deficit.
BaMidbar’s mission is to ensure that Jewish youth and young adults have the confidence, skills, and community support to navigate life’s challenges and thrive in the face of adversity. BaMidbar envisions a Jewish community that actively supports its members in cultivating mental health and wellness.
BaMidbar opened initially with fiscal sponsorship from Ramah in the Rockies, also a designated 501(c)(3). We are immensely grateful to Ramah in the Rockies for incubating BaMidbar, providing operational and administrative support since our founding, and sharing wisdom throughout our development. This public charity designation positions BaMidbar for further opportunities for programmatic and operational growth to address the mental health crisis facing our community. As an organization that sits at the intersection of mental health, Jewish learning, and experiential education, BaMidbar is uniquely situated to facilitate comprehensive change around mental health in the Jewish community.
BaMidbar addresses mental health and wellness through a three-pronged approach focusing on mental health prevention, education, and treatment.
- Prevention: Through wellness-focused youth programming, BaMidbar helps Jewish teens and young adults bolster personal resilience by expanding their understanding of mental health and grounding that understanding within their Jewish identity.
- Education: Through mental health education and professional development, BaMidbar helps Jewish communal professionals expand their mental health literacy and explore facilitation through the lens of social and emotional growth.
- Treatment: Through wilderness-based, therapeutic journeys of self-discovery, hope, and healing, BaMidbar supports Jewish young adults struggling with mental health challenges.
In 2021, BaMidbar launched the teen Wellness Fellowship in partnership with the Jewish Teen Initiative at Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, partnered with 35 organizations including Foundation for Jewish Camp, Hillel International, the Jewish Teen Education and Engagement Funder Collaborative, and Prizmah Center for Jewish Day Schools to offer 116 mental health education programs reaching 2,749 Jewish communal professionals, and returned to the Colorado Rockies to offer its immersive, wilderness-based residential treatment program for Jewish young adults struggling with mental health challenges. Major funders of BaMidbar include Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Crown Family Philanthropies, the Covenant Foundation, the Jim Joseph Foundation, Rose Community Foundation, and the Natan Fund. BaMidbar was powered by UpStart’s Venture Accelerator program and is currently a recipient of Legacy Heritage Fund’s Project Accelerate program.
Visit www.BaMidbarTherapy.org and follow @BaMidbarTherapy on Facebook and Instagram to learn more.
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