$44,000 In Grants Awarded By Cleveland Jewish Teens

BEACHWOOD, OH — Some 40 Jewish high school juniors and seniors from throughout the Greater Cleveland region have come together to recommend $44,000 in grants be given to 14 area organizations. The students are part of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland's 2017-2018 Maurice Saltzman Youth Panel.

“This process has taught me that while working with others can be challenging in the moment, in the end we all were acting in the best interest of our community,” said David Mack, a senior at Shaker Heights High School. “I have built decision making skills and friendships that I will keep for many years. I look forward to seeing the impact our work has on our community and continuing my work as a philanthropist.”

The Youth Panel was first established in 1998, via a gift from Shirley Saltzman and her family, in honor of Maurice Saltsman. The goal of the program was to educate the next generation of Jewish community leadership. Each year, a new Saltzman Youth Panel allocates up to $50,000 to worthy organizations, 85 percent of which go to programs serving the Jewish community. The other 15 percent go to non-profits serving the general community.

This year, the panel recommended grants of $6,000 to the Hebrew Shelter Home, $6,00 to the Mandel JCC for companion counselors for summer campers with special needs, $5,000 to the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage for the Holocaust Survivor Memory Project, $2,500 for mentors for at-risk youth in Cleveland's sister city of Beit Shean, Israel and $1,200 to Circle Health Services for the Teen Clinic and Outreach Education program.

The Saltzman Youth Panel met seven times throughout the school year. They made a Request for Proposals, reviewed grant applications, debated how funds should be allocated and finally made consensus decisions.

Panelists Carly Stewart (Solon High), Jonah Ross (Shaker Heights) and Zoey Zelman (Laurel) presented the panel’s recommendations to the Federation’s Board of Trustees on May 9. Recommendations from the panel were unanimously approved by the board.

Photo from Jewish Federation of Cleveland