Boulder Jewish News Arts, Culture, Events, Lifestyles, Holidays, Synagogues, Education
Denver, CO – Rose Youth Foundation, a grantmaking initiative of Rose Community Foundation, has awarded $60,000 in grants to ten projects, including one to the Boulder JCC, in three priority areas:
- engaging Jewish teens in their Jewish communities through programs that are meaningful and relevant to them;
- empowering high school students to advocate for educational change in public schools; and
- promoting the integration and self-sufficiency of refugees and survivors of genocide currently residing in Greater Denver and Boulder.
The grants were awarded at a celebration on May 23 for members of Rose Youth Foundation, their families and grant recipients. Since its inception in 2001, Rose Youth Foundation has granted $400,600 to Jewish and other organizations serving the seven-county Denver/Boulder community.
This was the ninth year of Rose Youth Foundation. This year’s group was comprised of 22 Jewish youth in grades 9 through 12 from 12 different schools, representing a wide range of Jewish backgrounds. Meeting since November 2009, the group studied Jewish philanthropic traditions, strategic philanthropy and community needs. In February, Rose Youth Foundation issued a Request for Proposals, which yielded 30 requests totaling $230,276. In March and April, Rose Youth Foundation’s members reviewed the proposals, made site visits and reached decisions on which projects they would fund.
Rose Youth Foundation’s impact extends beyond giving away money,” says third-year member Elliot Mamet, a junior at East High School. “This program nurtures and inspires a new generation of Jewish philanthropists.”
Following is a list of Rose Youth Foundation’s 2010 grants and descriptions of the projects for which the grant funds will be used. Locations indicate the organization’s headquarters, not necessarily the geographic area served.
Boulder Jewish Community Center (Boulder): $2,650 to create It’s About Respect, a peer education and advocacy program that trains teens to address anti-Semitism, hateful behaviors and bullying in schools and the community.
Catholic Charities (Denver): $6,720 to support the Adult English as a Second Language for Refugees program at Place Bridge Academy.
Colorado African Organization (Denver): $8,500 to support the BeFriender program for refugees, which includes English as a Second Language classes, case management, computer literacy and job-search training.
Community Talmud Torah (Denver): $2,900 to support a cross-denominational program that trains teenagers to educate younger students in supplemental religious schools.
Denver Public Schools (DPS) (Denver): $10,493 to support the DPS Student Board of Education in the creation of a student-taught leadership and service course for implementation in all DPS high schools.
Hazon (New York, NY): $8,000 to develop and implement the Do-It-Yourself series to engage Denver teens in local Jewish educational activities related to food and environmental sustainability.
Lutheran Family Services of Colorado (Denver): $5,000 to support the Women’s Workstyles program, which provides job training for refugee women.
Mercy Housing (Denver): $5,000 to provide services to refugees, including English as a Second Language classes, financial literacy, cultural assimilation and life skills.
Mizel Arts & Culture Center (Denver): $6,737 to support the youth film board in integrating youth-centered activities into the 2011 Denver Jewish Film Festival.
Ramah in the Rockies (Denver): $4,000 to support the Ramah Teen Tzedek Project, a four-day leadership retreat providing Jewish teens with hands-on training in Jewish environmental social activism.
Jewish youth who will be in grades 9 through 12 in the 2010-2011 academic year, and who are interested in participating in Rose Youth Foundation, can visit rcfdenver.org/RYF, or contact Sarah Indyk at 303.398.7416 or sindyk@rcfdenver.org to learn more.
Rose Youth Foundation 2009-2010 Members
| NAME | SCHOOL | GRADE |
|---|---|---|
| Jeffrey Aschkinasi * | East High School | 11 |
| Jonathan Bentley | Colorado Academy | 11 |
| Morgen Bernstein * | Cherry Creek High School | 12 |
| Elizabeth Dansky * | Kent Denver School | 10 |
| Maya Ellis | Fairview High School | 9 |
| Corey Goldman | Cherry Creek High School | 11 |
| Ari Grant * | Herzl/RMHA at the Denver Campus | 10 |
| Talia Halfon | Herzl/RMHA at the Denver Campus | 11 |
| Samantha Hea | Heritage High School | 11 |
| Kaila Hood | George Washington High School | 10 |
| Jordan Kastrinsky | Cherry Creek High School | 10 |
| Simon Kaufman | Herzl/RMHA at the Denver Campus | 10 |
| McKenna Klein | Regis Jesuit High School | 9 |
| Grace Kohn * | George Washington High School | 12 |
| Maddie Kornfeld | East High School | 10 |
| Elliot Mamet * | East High School | 11 |
| Taylor Minckley | Dakota Ridge High School | 12 |
| William Payne * | Heritage High School | 11 |
| Michelle Saipe | East High School | 11 |
| Julia Sigman | George Washington High School | 11 |
| Reid Spitz * | Cherry Creek High School | 12 |
| Eliza Stein | Denver School of Science and Technology | 9 |
