Teen Philanthropists

May 15, 2014, 7:39 pm 0 Edit

aProgram participants included Sam Weiner, Henry Silverman, Ben Brandeis, Nitzan Aaron, Sarah Davidson, Nora Kogan, Sydne Ballengee, Juliana Freeman, Rebecca Glickman, Max Aizenstein, Ziv Mayo, Ana Fischer and Meredith Brown, JCC children/teen/family program coordinator. Participants not pictured: Daniella Shear, Sam Kaplan, Kevin Krawczyk and Ben Gluzman.

Teen participants in the Samuel M. Goldston Teen Philanthropy Project B’nai Mitzvah Group, implemented by the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, recently decided to direct their donations to the following organizations: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburgh; the Holocaust Center of Greater Pittsburgh; Krembo Wings; Orr Shalom; HEARTH; and the Homeless Children’s Education Fund.

Program participants, open to teens in the seventh and eighth grades, each contribute $500 to the teen philanthropy fund. This money is matched dollar-for-dollar through the generosity of the Goldston family.

Through innovative programming built on the principles of tzedakah and tikkun olam, teens in this project learn how to be responsible philanthropists. They explore the many ways nonprofit agencies help make the world a better place, they review grant proposals submitted by local, national and international organizations and they make site visits to the agencies that submit grant proposals. The teens discuss funding priorities and ultimately make their allocation decisions based on the site visits and grant proposals. For more information or to sign up for the 2014-15 year, contact Meredith Brown at mbrown@jccpgh.org or 412-697-3520