Youth foundation learns needs exceed funds
By Deborah Moon Seldner
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At their Feb. 6 meeting to allocate funds to Jewish agencies, board members of the Oregon Jewish Community Youth Foundation discovered there were far more needs in the community than they had funds to meet.
But in the spirit of the saying from the Mishnah, "It is not up to you to finish the work, but neither are you free to desist from it entirely" (Pirke Avot 2:16), the teens forged ahead and allocated $2,500 to seven Jewish organizations (see box at right).
Created as a bat mitzvah project of Julia Weiss, the OJCYF is in its second year under the auspices of the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation. Each of the students on the board makes a minimum gift of $36. Matched with gifts from community members, $5,000 is available for allocation, with at least half going to Jewish organizations and the remainder to secular charities.
The Feb. 6 meeting for allocations to Jewish agencies gave the teens an abbreviated look at how adults struggle to allocate funding among many worthy causes. Teens will allocate the remaining funds to secular charities on March 6.
Following their presentations about the Jewish agencies they visited, the teens made allocations requests totaling $3,450--more than the $2,500 they planned to allocate to Jewish programs.
"You have all been very judicious," OJCF Executive Director John Moss told the teens. "Nobody asked for anything outrageous." Yet even with the judicious requests, Moss pointed out, "There's more need than we have."
In addition to the nine agencies they visited, teens discussed several other worthy groups, such as various Jewish youth organizations, the National Council of Jewish Women, the Oregon Holocaust Resource Center and the Mittleman Jewish Community Center.
While the teens acknowledged the MJCC's financial needs are very significant, they decided not to offer the beleaguered center a direct grant.
Morriah Kaplan, who visited the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, suggested increasing the allocation to the federation instead of giving money directly to the MJCC. Kaplan said the federation is the central fund-raising organization for Jewish social services locally and around the world, and it has the resources to decide "where our money could do the most good."
Kaplan said the Federation is so careful and thoughtful with its allocations.
"It's important to be part of the community; that's why people donate to Federation," she said.
Ultimately, the teens decided not to award money to any group that had not been visited by one of the trustees.
"Maybe our impression from the outside isn't correct," said Blake Morell in urging priority for agencies for which presentations were made at the meeting.
Deciding to limit their allocations to visited agencies still left the teens with less money than they wanted to distribute. Most of the teens argued passionately for funding for the agency they had visited.
"Jordan (Cecil) and I think they (Jewish Family and Child Service) reach out to a lot of different needs in the community," said Katie Dobscha. Later she asked for $700 for the agency, saying it was "one of the most important requests."
Josh Wasserteil said he felt $700 was a large amount, considering they had only $2,500 to give. Marissa Snyder concurred, saying that $700 was so much more than the other requests, "it's really overdoing it."
But Blake Morell reminded the teens that "this is for really needy people."
And mentor Tali Singer said she felt the allocation should be even higher because "this organization addresses critical needs."
JFCS ended up with the largest allocation--$625, one-quarter of the entire Jewish allocation.
Morell pushed hard for a $500 allocation to the Robison Jewish Health Center. He said he was impressed when CEO David Fuks told him the RJHC mission to care for the elderly comes directly from the Torah's Fifth Commandment to honor your parents. He also liked the idea that, with a $500 contribution, the OJCYF would be immortalized with an engraved leaf on the RJHC "Tree of Life."
Wasserteil and Dana Bacharach called the Jewish Review "a vital link for Jews in Portland." The pair requested $400 to help the Jewish Review enhance its Web site.
"Think what the Jewish community would be like without the Jewish Review," said Bacharach.
"The Internet is so vital to grow the Jewish community," said Wasserteil.
Editor Paul Haist said the $300 allocation approved by the group would be used to purchase software to enhance the calendar section of the Jewish Review Web site.
Two visited agencies--B'nai B'rith Camp and Morasha, sponsor of the Melton Adult Mini-School--missed out on allocations. The teens decided it was unfair to give a donation to just one of several Jewish camps in the area. And while Hadas Horenstein said she felt Jewish education for adults was important, she acknowledged it was "an extra" rather than a critical need.
"After visiting the sites, they realized there was something of value at each of them but not enough money to go around," said Moss. "They made mature choices based on what we had talked about at previous meetings with Maimonides and the hierarchy of need."
"This is a great seed for the future," Moss added. "These kids will be future leaders. I think these kids are going to make intelligent, astute choices with their giving balanced to the needs of the community. This gives me cause for optimism."
