Youth philanthropists chose Jewish projects that invest in a richer Jewish future and secular projects that aid youth in need when they dispersed $30,000 in grants last month.
The 25 high school age board members of the Oregon Jewish Community Youth Foundation awarded $16,600 to nine Jewish projects and $13,400 to eight secular programs. The grants, which was primarily money raised at the OJCYF The Future is Now dinner this spring, were in addition to the $8,500 the board had allocated to Jewish and secular agencies earlier in the year.
“They invest in things that are going to pay dividends and make for a richer Jewish experience in their lifetime,” said John Moss, director of the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation, which oversees the OJCYF. “They look at projects that can be incubators because they have to live in the very future we talk about.”
The board’s largest Jewish grant was $4,000 to help establish a Hillel for Portland area campuses. Rapidly approaching college age themselves, they were attracted by the idea of providing the founding grant for a program to promote Jewish continuity on campuses.
“They kids are passionate about starting new things and they saw there is a hole in the Portland community,” said Moss, noting that they also continued their support of the PJ Library for which they provided the seed money two years ago.
The teens voted to give $1,000 to the PJ Library, which now provides free Jewish books to about 550 Oregon children each month.
The Jewish Student Union, Jewish clubs in local high schools, asked for and received $1,500. And the Oregon Board of Rabbis received $1,000 to create a Portland Youth Initiative to create collaborative programming for teenagers.
The teens voted to give $1,000 to help Machar “create a cohort of Jewishly literate, Jewishly involved 20-something and 30-something leaders.”
Social action and tzedakah were another area the teens choose to support. They awarded $3,000 to fund a Social Justice Institute scheduled for this September. Organized by the Community Relations Committee of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, the Institute will bring together Jewish leaders and volunteers to participate in acts of social justice and to learn about ways to work together on common goals.
“The Tzedakah Summit in September is promoting the very message that is clearly what the youth foundation is all about,” said Moss.
Similarly, the youth saw merit in the Mittleman Jewish Community Center’s Monthly Mitzvah Program, which received $2,000. The project will provide tikkun olam opportunities for people in the community to participate in service projects.
Other Jewish grants were $600 to provide gift subscriptions of Jvibe magazine to post-b’nai mitavah teens in the Portland area; and $2,500 to send one participant to the PresenTense Institute, a six-week fellowship at the Jerusalem think tank.
The teens gave $13,400 to eight secular projects:
• $4,500 to the Community Transitioanl School for a summer school for homeless children;
• $2,350 to Portland Youth Builders for their GreenBuild Initiative;
• $2,350 to Raphael House for an education and outreach program;
• $ 1,500 to CASA to enable one child to participate in the Court Appointed Special Advocate program;
• $1,100 to the Boys and Girls Club of Portland for its youth and family services program;
• $1,000 to The Children’s Center to improve documentation of sexual abuse;
• $500 to the Portland Reading Foundation for its WORKS reading remediation program; and
• $100 to SOLV for Student Learn and SOLV.
The 25 high school age board members of the Oregon Jewish Community Youth Foundation awarded $16,600 to nine Jewish projects and $13,400 to eight secular programs. The grants, which was primarily money raised at the OJCYF The Future is Now dinner this spring, were in addition to the $8,500 the board had allocated to Jewish and secular agencies earlier in the year.
“They invest in things that are going to pay dividends and make for a richer Jewish experience in their lifetime,” said John Moss, director of the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation, which oversees the OJCYF. “They look at projects that can be incubators because they have to live in the very future we talk about.”
The board’s largest Jewish grant was $4,000 to help establish a Hillel for Portland area campuses. Rapidly approaching college age themselves, they were attracted by the idea of providing the founding grant for a program to promote Jewish continuity on campuses.
“They kids are passionate about starting new things and they saw there is a hole in the Portland community,” said Moss, noting that they also continued their support of the PJ Library for which they provided the seed money two years ago.
The teens voted to give $1,000 to the PJ Library, which now provides free Jewish books to about 550 Oregon children each month.
The Jewish Student Union, Jewish clubs in local high schools, asked for and received $1,500. And the Oregon Board of Rabbis received $1,000 to create a Portland Youth Initiative to create collaborative programming for teenagers.
The teens voted to give $1,000 to help Machar “create a cohort of Jewishly literate, Jewishly involved 20-something and 30-something leaders.”
Social action and tzedakah were another area the teens choose to support. They awarded $3,000 to fund a Social Justice Institute scheduled for this September. Organized by the Community Relations Committee of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, the Institute will bring together Jewish leaders and volunteers to participate in acts of social justice and to learn about ways to work together on common goals.
“The Tzedakah Summit in September is promoting the very message that is clearly what the youth foundation is all about,” said Moss.
Similarly, the youth saw merit in the Mittleman Jewish Community Center’s Monthly Mitzvah Program, which received $2,000. The project will provide tikkun olam opportunities for people in the community to participate in service projects.
Other Jewish grants were $600 to provide gift subscriptions of Jvibe magazine to post-b’nai mitavah teens in the Portland area; and $2,500 to send one participant to the PresenTense Institute, a six-week fellowship at the Jerusalem think tank.
The teens gave $13,400 to eight secular projects:
• $4,500 to the Community Transitioanl School for a summer school for homeless children;
• $2,350 to Portland Youth Builders for their GreenBuild Initiative;
• $2,350 to Raphael House for an education and outreach program;
• $ 1,500 to CASA to enable one child to participate in the Court Appointed Special Advocate program;
• $1,100 to the Boys and Girls Club of Portland for its youth and family services program;
• $1,000 to The Children’s Center to improve documentation of sexual abuse;
• $500 to the Portland Reading Foundation for its WORKS reading remediation program; and
• $100 to SOLV for Student Learn and SOLV.
Jewish teens donate $30,000
By Deborah Moon
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