Voices: The Teen Giving Circle

The Jewish Federation is looking for a diverse group of Jewish teens who are interested in learning how to research grants and distribute funds to non-profit organizations. Voices provides a forum for up to 25 Chicago area teenagers to use $25,000 to help make a difference in the world. By attending regular meetings over the course of the school year, you’ll discuss issues of social justice, learn about grant making and get intensive training on how to solicit and evaluate grant proposals from non-profit organizations. At the end of the year, you and the group will award $25,000 in grants to Jewish organizations that are working to repair the world.

Now's Your Chance

You’ve always dreamed of a world where every child has enough to eat and a roof overhead, where diseases are conquered and the environment is protected, where all peoples live in harmony and all nations are at peace.

Now you can do more than dream.

Think about what you could do with $25,000. That could buy a lot of hot meals. It could provide a lot of medicine, shelter or job training. It could fund a lot of literacy or tolerance workshops. Or all of the above. It’s up to you.

You can Make a Difference

We think of tzedakah as the act of giving charity and tikkun olam as the commitment to repair the world, one good deed at a time. Voices: The Teen Giving Circle invites you to combine tzedakah and tikkun olam in an exciting new way. We’ll provide the money. You provide the ideas, the passion, the voice.

• Meet Jewish high school students from different backgrounds who live throughout the Chicago area.
• Discuss issues of social justice and find areas of common ground.
• Learn about grant making—how to request grant proposals, how to evaluate the proposals, and how to make grants.
• Make site visits to see first-hand what non-profit organizations are doing to change the world—and how you can help them.
• Work together to award grants totaling $25,000 to the organizations of your choice.

  Related Video:

Voices - Robbie's Story Like many teens, Robbie yearned to make a difference for people in need. Here's the story of how his involvement in JUF helped him do just that. 0:48 (6.5 MB) | 10/10/2007

How to Get Involved

Applications (PDF) for the 2009-10 school year are now available. If you have questions about the program, please contact Leemor Dotan at 312-444-2802 or e-mail voices@juf.org.

Voices: The Teen Giving Circle
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago
30 South Wells Rm 5035
Chicago, IL 60606
Phone: 312-444-2802
Fax: 312-444-2086
E-mail: voices@juf.org