Jewish Community Federation of San
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Jewish Teen Foundations Impact Report A program of the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund Celebrating a Landmark Achievement 2004 - 2012 9 years, 500 teens, over $1 million granted to nonprofits in the Bay Area, Israel, and worldwide Jewish Teen Foundations address issues locally, in Israel, and around the world Countries where teens have distributed grants The causes teens support include: Creating a culture of giving for the next generation As a parent… I am humbled and inspired by the powerful “It is probably one of the transformations our Jewish teens experience when they most worthwhile activities our go through this program. Their journey is transcendent daughter has participated in. It and leaves me with the hope for a better world that only not only helped her to further youthful commitment can inspire. For the past nine years, on a weekend in late November, 100 nervous adolescents develop a sense of empathy, in new business attire walk into a hotel, kicking off but taught her how to turn their membership and commitment to the Jewish Teen empathy into positive action.” Foundations for one year. Each joins with a desire to – Cheryl Sue Schwartzman make a difference, but most have no clue what a room Director of Philanthropic Education full of Jewish teens with a common purpose can ignite. First-year participants are guided by returning teens, As a participant… ready to teach their peers how collective effort and individual fundraising translate into real and profound impact – water systems for entire communities, school scholarships for needy “The Jewish Teen Foundations kids, medicine and proper nutrition for ailing Holocaust survivors, help for impoverished acted as a stepping stone for Jewish babies in Argentina, and a brighter future through education for children who understanding how philanthropy otherwise would have fallen through the cracks of poverty. and grant-making work in the real Believing that you can change the world – and then actually doing it – not only instills world. It was incredibly powerful confidence in teens, it transforms who they are as adults. I am grateful to the Federation to see what impact we, as a group and our many funders who had the foresight to invest in this innovative program and who of teens, had on issues that we continues to support it today. And I am blessed to have taken this journey with 500 teens, deemed important.” amazing staff, and nonprofit partners. These teens are my moral compass. May their stories and accomplishments inspire us all to fulfill our philanthropic potential. – Allison One Alumna’s journey to discovering her passion “Teens step up when they are I do not know even where to begin or how to express the importance of the entrusted with responsibility.” Jewish Teen Foundations on my life. Starting with the JTF board from 8th grade onwards, this experience has been one of, if not the most important thing for helping me find my personal interest and think critically. The Teen Foundations provided me a place to interact with adults as peers, and I owe a lot of my personal growth to the program. It made me step back and think about what my role – as a Jew and as a global citizen – was and is in the larger worldwide community. I had to think about ways to integrate my Jewish values into projects that are bigger than just the Jewish community. The Teen Foundations helped me find what I am passionate about. This year, I am starting a job in Malawi where I will be running an evaluation of a project that reduced barriers to accessing savings accounts. I could not be more excited to be part of an organization working to measure effectiveness. There is no doubt in my mind that I would not be where I am today without the Teen Foundation. Rachel Levenson, JTF alumna Where is Rachel today? Rachel focused her university studies on international development in Africa. She conducted research over the course of four months in Uganda, which ultimately led to her thesis. She participated in American Jewish World Service learning in Nicaragua and Uganda, and studied in Senegal where she perfected her French. Rachel spent a year at Oxford studying international development. Today, Rachel is a Wesleyan University graduate, who has opened a donor advised fund at the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund and has pledged to give at least 10% of her income to charities until her retirement. “I will bring forward Instilling teens with the skills needed for life-long the skills I have learned, activism and philanthropy but also a stronger Philanthropy requires training, experience, and a commitment to understanding of the tzedakah (justice). The Jewish Teen Foundations (JTF) offer select groups of Bay Area Jewish teens (9th-11th grade) the opportunity world, its conflicts, to explore Jewish values, address social justice issues, develop and its peoples.” leadership skills, and practice informed and directed philanthropy. – Leah The participants make a one-year commitment to serve on one of JTF board member the four Jewish Teen Foundations (North Peninsula, South Peninsula, Marin/San Francisco, and East Bay). This responsibility includes attending a weekend retreat and seven, youth-led “You can look at a list of Sunday board meetings. Guided by a talented group of staff, teens learn how to fundraise, distribute grants, and run their own nonprofit foundations. twenty Jewish values in Sunday school and it’s just As a program of the Bay Area Jewish Community Federations, our teens gain access to resources, expertise, and opportunities, as well that, a list of great values. as share in the mission and work of these philanthropic institutions. But doing this work has The JTF exposes Bay Area teens to local and worldwide social, actually made those political, economic, and environmental issues. It also introduces values a physical, them to a variety of on-the-ground organizations working to tangible experience.” address these issues. From runaway San Francisco youth, to a Darfur refugee’s journey to Israel, to the atrocities in the Congo and elderly Ukrainian Jews living on $2 a day – the intent – Ryan is to create awareness, deepen their commitment to social action, and empower them JTF board member through responsibility and decision-making. Within the process, teens find real joy in giving. Organizations funded The Jewish Teen Foundations are proud to have funded over 100 nonprofit organizations*. • A Child’s Right • Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society • North American Conference of • Sumba Foundation • A Glimmer of Hope • Herschel Center Ethiopian Jews • Sustainable Cambodia • Advancement for Rural Kids • Himalayan Cataract Project • One Family Fund • TanzSolar • A.H.A.V.A. • Holocaust Center of Northern • Polish American Jewish • Tel Hai Academic College • Magen David Adom California Alliance for Youth Action • Tibet Fund • American Jewish World Service • The Hunger Project • PlayPumps International • Trailblazer Foundation • American Nicaraguan Foundation • I Have a Dream • Real Options for City Kids • Trips for Kids • Arava Institute • International Rescue Committee • Resource Foundation • The Vaccine Fund • Art of Yoga • Israel Union for Environmental • Reut Sderot • Verde Partnership Garden • Ashok Gadgil Research Laboratory, Defense • Riders for Health • Vitamin Angels UC Berkeley • Israel Venture Network • Riekes Center • Water Partners International • Bay Area Outreach and Recreation • Jaffa Institute • Room to Read • World Medical Fund USA Program • Jerusalem Rape Crisis Center • Sexto Sol • World ORT • Bedouin Women’s Embroidery • Jewish Agency for Israel • Shelter Network • Yad Sarah Project • Jewish Coalition for Literacy • The Sierra Club • Yemin Orde • Beit Issie Shapiro • Jewish Community Free Clinic of • Sociedad Israelita de Beneficencia • Youth Renewal Fund • Ben Shemen Sonoma County de Mendoza • Blue Planet Network • Jewish Family and Children’s • Solar Electric Lightg Fund *This*This isis a parpartialtial listing.listing. • Bread Project Services • buildOn • Jewish Heart for Africa • Canal Alliance • Jewish Home of San Francisco • Center for Independent Living • American Jewish Joint Distribution • Charity: Water Committee (JDC) • College Track • Jewish National Fund • Direct Relief International • Jewish World Watch • Earth Justice • Journeys Within Our Community • Eastside College Preparatory School • Life Learning Academy • East Meets West Foundation • Lift Up Africa • Ecumenical Hunger Program • Living Compassion • ELI • Malaria No More • Enrich the World • Meir Panim • Freedom From Hunger • Midrasha of the East Bay • Fresh Lifelines for Youth • Migdal Ohr • Friends by Nature • The Mosaic Project • Yad b’Yad (Hand in Hand) • mothers2mothers • Heal Africa • Nepal Youth Foundation • Heartland Alliance • Nomad Foundation Here are some examples of our impact Partnering with: • Jewish Heart for Africa and utilizing Israeli solar technology, our teens have powered a school, an orphanage, and two medical clinics and provided refrigeration for vaccines. • Yemin Orde (an Israeli youth village serving adolescent survivors of trauma and displacement), our teens have funded a volunteer project, a learning center, rebuilt their water system after a devastating fire, and supported a post-high school preparation program. • Friends by Nature, our teens supported two years of a community garden project for Ethiopian Israelis that fostered a connection between the youth and elderly, provided nourishment, and ultimately led residents to take pride in their local