The Linda Alexander Teen Funders Program has been under the auspices of the Jewish Community Foundation of Central New York since its inception in 20XX.  During that time, participating  teens made more than $60,000 in grants to worthy causes and organizations. The COVID pandemic derailed active participation, however,  and the decision was made to move the Teen Funders program to the Epstein School so that it could be reactivated and revitalized.

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The Epstein School hosted an initial meeting for existing and prospective participants on March 19, 2024. Three additional Teen Funders programs were scheduled for the spring of 2024. The Epstein School also piloted a new fall semester course  for ninth-grade students entirely focused on Jewish philanthropy, “ChangeMakers: A Journey Through Jewish Teen Philanthropy,” provided by Honeycomb, the leading resource for Jewish teen philanthropy. In this course students learned the textual and Jewish values-based ethics of philanthropic giving, surveyed the ins and outs of nonprofits (including budgeting, how to design requests for proposals, and how to evaluate RFPs), and prioritized justice issues based on mitzvot and Jewish values.

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Over the next several years, the Epstein School will be incorporating the Teen Funders program throughout its curriculum.  The school will prioritize tzedakah and philanthropic giving in a more central way through Teen Funders. The Epstein Leadership Council class, which is the student voice of Epstein, is planning the school’s first annual fundraising event, Cafe Sababa: an Open Mic Night, that will raise money for the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the organization founded by the families and supporters of the Israeli hostages in Gaza. Students are also incorporating tzedakah into Epstein special programming and its  graduates will make a grant at the annual Siyum (completion of learning) program to a local Jewish or Israeli cause of their choice.

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Teen Funders is not a program only for Epstein students. All b’mitzvah students are invited to participate, regardless of their enrollment status at Epstein. Upcoming b’mitzvah families will be invited to participate in Teen Funders at a variety of community-wide events, including Yom Ha’Atzmaut and KlezFest, through direct contact at the community’s religious schools, the  Syracuse Community Hebrew School and the Syracuse Hebrew Day School.