2011 San Francisco Bay Area Regional Teen Philanthropy Retreat

Summary and Highlights

94 Jewish teens arrived at Embassy Suites in South San Francisco on Friday afternoon, many looking a bit skeptical and worried since they didn’t know any one.  These same teens left 48 hours later armed with new friends, a sense of purpose and truly excited about the opportunity to make their mark on the world.  
 
These teens celebrated Shabbat with discussions about their Jewish values that they will use throughout the year, and practiced consensus decision making.  On Saturday they heard from our keynote speaker Aaron Moses, a Ugandan Jew who joined them for the weekend, and then attended three sessions with non-profit representatives discussing the issues of our time.  Some heard about the atrocities in the Congo, others listened to runaway SF youth, some learned what life is like for elderly Ukrainian Jews living on $2 a day, while others discussed the journey of Darfur refugees now in Israel, as well as five other equally amazing workshops.  By Sunday, the teens attended their first foundation board meeting and after two and a half hours, contemplating all of the important issues presented, chose their mission statements.

The result: we believe it is safe to say that we have 94 new philanthropists, 12 empowered teen alumni staff ready to speak at the next Federation event, 94 grateful families who we hope to further inspire their philanthropy as well, several grateful grandparents and community members who came to support the event, and one exhausted Teen Philanthropy staff.