The Jewish Community Youth Foundation is excited to kick off its thirteenth
year this fall, as it celebrates its Bar Mitzvah year. The program brings together nearly 200 teens
in grades 8 through 12 from the greater Mercer County area. The Jewish Community Youth Foundation is a
project of Jewish Family & Children’s Service and funded by the Ricky and
Andrew J. Shechtel Philanthropic Fund and the Jewish Federation of Princeton
Mercer Bucks. The program is designed to
have teens learn about, experience, and act upon Jewish values.
Each participant contributes
$120, which is then matched by the Shechtel Philanthropic Fund and The Jewish Federation
of Princeton Mercer Bucks. The contributions are pooled together and each group
of participants is responsible for allocating thousands of dollars to worthy
causes. The students meet six times between October and March in the Princeton
area to discuss Tzedakah, assess the kinds of programs and issues they wish to
explore, invite specific agencies to apply for funding, and arrange for site
visits to those agencies. At year-end, each group meets to debate and decide
how their dollars will be donated. Since
the Jewish Community Youth Foundation’s inception, the teen philanthropists
have donated $605,090 to 57 different Jewish recipient agencies locally,
nationally and around the world.
This progressive curriculum
begins with incoming eighth graders who focus on local Jewish agencies that
provide assistance to those in need. Each year progresses to a different focus,
as ninth graders explore regional and national agencies, tenth graders
investigate Jewish arts and culture, eleventh graders focus on outreach and
advocacy, and twelfth graders learn about philanthropy in Israel.
The Jewish Community Youth
Foundation is one of 133 similar programs around the country, and ours is a
model that is receiving national attention. The goal is to develop a new
generation of Jewish Philanthropists; judging by the reactions of the
participants and their parents, it is well on its way to success.
Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth
grade registration is now in progress.
For more information, visit our website at: www.jfcsonline.org/jcyf or contact Celeste
Albert at 609-987-8100 or celestea@jfcsonline.org. The first Jewish Community Youth Foundation
meeting will take place in the fall.
Space is limited.
