Fifty teens from the Greater Phoenix Jewish Community Foundation’s B’nai Tzedek Youth Philanthropy Program participated in a Tikkun Olam tour on Feb. 21. The concept was to have the teens experience firsthand some of the places and people their donated dollars will reach. They stopped at the Valley of the Sun JCC to see Kids Enjoying Exercise Now, an organization that allows kids with special needs to play sports with teen volunteers. The teens helped to sort bundles of clothes for needy campers of Camp Swift, learned about the Arizona foster care program and wrapped gifts for children in the program.
Samantha Quen, the communications co-chair of the Youth Philanthropy Board, wrote the following report on the tour:
“Our final stop of the day was perhaps the most challenging, yet took place at a local Safeway. In small teams, we took the food stamp challenge, spending $20 on four days’ worth of nutritious food for teens who have aged out of the foster care system. We were shopping for teens from the JFCS Teens in Transition program. Each team was led by members of the Youth Philanthropy Board. We truly had to be strategic in our thinking and shopping. We also knew that we were not allowed to purchase ramen noodles; they might be cheap, but they have no nutritional value and won’t be helpful. On Monday morning, $160 worth of carefully selected groceries were delivered to the JFCS Real World Job Development Center. From this wonderful service-learning activity, we discovered the difficulties of sustaining a balanced diet while on food stamps.”
Samantha is a junior at Horizon High School and a member of Temple Chai.
480-699-1717, jcfphoenix.org
