July 03, 2014
(JTA) — Fifteen U.S. teens were recognized for their volunteerism with Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards.
Each will receive an honorarium of $36,000 from the Helen Diller Family Foundation, a supporting foundation of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties. The winners and their programs can be found here.
“Acknowledged for their exceptional leadership and commitment to social good, the...
February 17, 2014
By HILLEL KUTTLER
BALTIMORE (JTA) — When his uncle Michael was diagnosed with brain cancer just over a year ago, George Weiner dug his cleats deeper in the batter’s box while also skating hard to check their foe into the boards.
That’s because George, now 13 and a dedicated ice hockey player, was very close with Michael Weiner, the Major League Baseball Players Association’s executive director. So as he considered...
February 16, 2014
By SUZANNE KURTZ SLOAN
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Just shy of her second birthday, Lauren Maunus’ younger sister, Rachel, took a small bite from a cashew and had a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction.
“Until that day, I never knew someone could die from a nut,” Maunus said.
Her family’s priority became Rachel’s safety and Maunus, 16, became her sister’s biggest advocate.
As a high school freshman, she drafted a bill for her...
January 30, 2014
By SUZANNE KURTZ SLOAN
WASHINGTON (JTA) — More than 600 Jewish teenagers descended upon New Orleans this past December to bring positive change to a city still affected eight years later by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. The teens arrived from across North America to participate in the annual international convention for United Synagogue Youth (USY), the Conservative youth movement.
Over the course of five days, they engaged in multiple...
January 30, 2014
By SUZANNE KURTZ SLOAN
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Born with a congenital cataract, Lillian Pravda, 13, underwent her first eye surgery to restore sight in her left eye when she was just 9 weeks old.
Today the eighth-grader plays on the basketball team at the Ramaz School in New York where she also lives with her parents and younger sister, Maxine.
But the experience of being a patient as a young...
October 25, 2013
By SUZANNE KURTZ SLOAN
WASHINGTON (JTA) — When Lauren Yellen was in second grade, she met a girl with cerebral palsy who was mute. As a bat mitzvah, Yellen decided to raise money for a specially trained dog to help the girl.
The experience, she said, made her “realize the importance of helping people in general.”
Now a high school senior in Farmington Hills, Mich., Yellen serves as a regional...
October 09, 2013
(JTA) — The Helen Diller Family Foundation is accepting nominations for the 2014 Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards, which recognize Jewish teens for their leadership and innovative social action projects.
As many as 10 teens — up to five from California and from other communities across the country — each will receive $36,000 for the award. The deadline for nominations is Jan. 5.
Since 2007, some 40 Jewish teens across...
October 04, 2013
By SUZANNE KURTZ
WASHINGTON (JTA) — In 2008, Daniel Sobajian listened to President Obama’s inaugural speech and liked what he heard.
“He said go out and help your community and make a difference,” recalled Sobajian, then an eighth-grader at the Sinai Akiba Academy in Los Angeles. “I realized just how privileged I was.”
Soon after, he sought out William “Bill” Rosendahl, his city councilman in Mar Vista, CA., and formed a...
August 22, 2013
The CCJN is looking for area teenagers who could be featured as part of JTA’s new Teen Heroes bi-weekly feature. If your teen is engaged in a long-term charitable endeavor and you believe he or she needs to be acknowledged, send your nominations to Editor-AT-ccjn.net or Teens-AT-jta.org.
August 15, 2013
By SUZANNE KURTZ SLOANE
(JTA) — Max Wallack was 6 years old when his beloved great-grandmother Gertrude came to live with him and his family in Natick, Mass.
For four years he helped his parents take care of her and saw firsthand the effects of Alzheimer’s disease on her. But Wallack also noticed that when she and other Alzheimer’s patients would do simple jigsaw puzzles, their mood would lighten.
The...