About Us

PHOTO: Slingshot Philanthropy Conference, New York, October 2010

“We are the legacy of our parents’ and grandparents’ philanthropy. We need to continue where they leave off and continue to set an example.”
— Meredith B., Young Philanthropists Panel, 2006 United Jewish Communities General Assembly, Los Angeles, CA
“At Slingshot Day, I attended a workshop titled, “Engaging the Next Generation.” The main-takeaways for me were: 1. It’s not what you say, it’s what you do; 2. Lead by example to get others involved; 3. Philanthropy can help people get in touch with their Jewish roots, or feel connected to their Jewish identity.”
— Josh G.

J-Teen Leadership empowers teens to work together for tremendous philanthropic impact. Many projects have cause-related fundraising aspects where teens reach out to the wider community. Each J-Teen Leadership Service Trip carries with it the responsibility to be ambassadors of the community. All teens who participate on our service trips are required to participate in a Duffle Bag Project where they reach out to family, friends and synagogue communities to collect needed supplies.

Additional fundraising efforts are often inspired by the problems encountered on each mission as well as in local service projects. Experiential learning brings with it the motivation to want to help alleviate societal problems. The connection of these actions to Jewish values makes it an opportunity to build a stronger commitment to our tradition.

As a result of successes of our real world teen philanthropy projects, teens have been invited to be participants in philanthropy and financial seminars. In 2010, J-Teen Leadership opened a donor-advised account at the Jewish Communal Fund with funds raised by our teens for the purpose of making philanthropic grants to charitable organizations. Additionally, we have partnered with the Jewish Communal Fund to organize Teen Philanthropy Summits focused on the issues of Hunger and Poverty (February 2011) and Disaster Relief and Preparedness (November 2011).

J-Teen Leadership Philanthropy projects include:

  • Louisiana  Raised funds and collected and distributed clothing, personal hygiene products, sports equipment, music, and toys for people living in FEMA trailer villages
  • Iowa  Donated Home Depot Gift Cards for families affected by flooding
  • Cuba  Delivered over one ton of medical supplies, clothing, personal hygiene products and paint supplies in 2009, 2011 and 2012. Brought 23 duffel bags of supplies in 2007.
  • J-SERVE 2010  Raised funds to support the work of the Afya Foundation in sending containers of medical supplies to Haiti
  • J-SERVE 2008  Raised funds at social action fair and donated to PlayPumps for clean water in Africa

Sunday, November 20, 2011  Teen Philanthropy Summit with a focus on Disaster Relief and Recovery co-sponsored with the Jewish Communal Fund and the JCC in Manhattan For more information and to register

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We are thankful for the generous funding for J-Teen Leadership received from: