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Yugntruf – Youth for Yiddish 
Institution name: Yugntruf – Youth for Yiddish
Address: 419 Lafayette St., 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10003
Telephone: (212) 889-0381
Extension:
Fax:
Web address: http://yugntruf.org
 
Name: Meena-Lifshe Viswanath
Title: Chairperson
Address: 419 Lafayette St., 2nd Floor
New York,  NY  10003
Email: yanklperets@yugntruf.org
Telephone: (212) 889-0381
Extension:
Fax:
Purposes and goals of the program:
Yugntruf, which means “call to youth” in Yiddish, cultivates the active use of the Yiddish language among today’s youth in the United States and abroad by creating opportunities for Yiddish learning and immersion, and by providing resources and support for Yiddish speakers and families within an expansive social network.

Yidish-Vokh (Yiddish Week) is our annual all-Yiddish retreat that this year took place at the Pearlstone Retreat Center in Reisterstown, MD. What started as a weekend gathering of a few families and friends in New York, has grown into a weeklong event which attracts more than 150 people from all over the world, including people from Mexico, Canada, Poland, Russia, Australia, the UK, Brazil, and France.

Yidish-Vokh provides activities for Yiddish speakers of all ages, and is held every year from mid- to late August.
Program origin:
David Roskies, a student of the Yiddish linguist Mordekhe Schaechter, founded the program in 1964. The program started out in Schaechter’s house with some of his students and has grown into an organization that caters to people all over the United States and the world.
Program funding:
Yugntruf receives money through membership fees, donations, and stipends from other organizations. For example, Yiddish Breaks are generally funded by places such as Hillels, the National Yiddish Book Center, and the Yiddish League.
 
Languages/dialects taught:
  • Yiddish
    •
    Program type:  Organization-Based
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    Yugntruf has been conducting a program called Yiddish-Vokh for more than 30 years. It is a week-long Yiddish immersion program for all ages. Yiddish Break is another program, which is in its third year. It is geared toward young people (college students usually). It generally takes place on college campuses. It lasts a few days and is not a total immersion program. Some of the events are in English and some are in Yiddish. The Svive Project is an informal get-together program that provides opportunities to speak Yiddish. This program usually takes place at people’s houses and is pot-luck style. It takes place about twice per month. Yugntruf also offers Yiddish classes. There is currently an intermediate class once a week and Yiddish drop-in classes designed so that people can come whenever they feel like and pick up where they left off. The Yiddish drop-in classes are free for members and $5 for non-members. There is also an advanced Yiddish class.
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    Yugntruf tries to advertise and network with programs where people, especially young people, go to learn Yiddish and about places that are affiliated with Yiddish.
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    Yugntruf receives money through membership fees, donations, and stipends from other organizations. For example, Yiddish Breaks are generally funded by places such as Hillels, the National Yiddish Book Center, and the Yiddish League. The organization solicits funding through letters and emails.
    Additional support desired:
    Yugntruf needs funds for operating costs and specific programs. Other forms of assistance include becoming a member, volunteering, hosting a Svive, or attending one of its events
    Challenges faced by the program:
    As the organization developed over time, the board aged. There was a need to engage younger members, which was difficult. Then a couple of years ago there was a turning point when the organization developers’ children, who had been going to Yiddish-Vokh throughout their lives, took over. But they have less experience, and that is a challenge for the organization. The fact that there aren’t as many native Yiddish speakers as they were 40-50 years ago also acts as a hurdle for Yugntruf. As a result, Yugntruf is forming connections with the Hasidic communities where there are more native Yiddish speakers. Finding funding is an ongoing challenge. Finally, Yugntruf is always working to fight myths and misconceptions about Yiddish. For example, many people think that Yiddish is a language that is dying and that no amount of effort will be able to keep it alive.
     
    Comments:
    For those who want to get involved, the first step is to go to the Web site at http://yugntruf.org, especially the “Get Involved” section. The organization is very much a grass roots initiative, so if people want to get involved, there are all kinds of ways to do so. In the past Yugntruf organized a Sunday school where kids learned to read and speak Yiddish. This is something they might want to do again in the future, especially if there’s a demand for it. They also want to provide more information for people and to advance the language development of Yiddish. They aim to do this by breaking down myths and misconceptions about heritage languages and Yiddish specifically (e.g., both parents must speak the language for a child to pick it up) and by getting native speakers of Yiddish who wouldn’t normally speak Yiddish to their kids to understand the importance of doing so. Also, Yugntruf is focusing on making sure their programming happens on a more regular basis. Finally, the organization wants to continue growing and would like to spread so that it can connect people all over the world.

    This profile was updated by Hanwool Choe on July 2014.