Three S.D. teens win Peter Chortek Leadership Awards

Peter Chortek Award winners 2015
Peter Chortek Leadership Award winners for 2015 are, from left, Noah Levinson, Joshua Kahn, and Lily Greenberg Call  (Photo: Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego)

SAN DIEGO (Press Release)– The Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego has selected three teens, Lily Greenberg Call, Joshua Kahn and Noah Levinson, to receive the Peter Chortek Leadership Award. Presented annually, the Award recognizes three exceptional teens who demonstrate excellence in community service, philanthropy and leadership. This year, the recipients have all positively impacted the community through service projects involving advocacy – working to raise awareness about women’s rights, promoting intercultural dialogue, and creating a stage for the next generation to learn about community needs.

Lily Greenberg Call, Grade 12, San Diego Jewish Academy: Lily was one of the founding members of Girls Give Back (GGB) at Jewish Family Service in 2010. GGB empowers the next generation of female leaders to positively influence the world around them. Lily’s contribution was to develop a Girls Give Back Advocacy program, which directly trained 40 girls to impact their communities through advocacy.  These girls have in turn educated others.  Civic engagement is a major family value in the Greenberg Call household.  Lily explains that she was drawn to advocacy because, “it is not just a band aid to cover and temporarily fix problems in society. Advocacy has the potential to make lasting change.”

Joshua Kahn, Grade 11, Pacific Ridge School: Joshua’s life was changed two years ago when he was encouraged by his teacher and mentor, Scott Silk, to attend a three- week summer program in Chicago called Hands of Peace, a nonprofit organization that brings together Israeli, Palestinian, and American teenagers to discuss the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. After this transformative experience, Joshua was determined to start a chapter in San Diego. Partnering with fellow student and co-leader Khalid Abudawas, Joshua spoke at local churches, mosques, synagogues, Rotary Clubs, and schools to secure $140,000 to start a San Diego program. In the past year Joshua developed a cohort of 24 teens who are interested in pursuing a path to peace. When asked why Joshua took this on, he said, “as a Jewish leader, I believe that it is my responsibility to create space to foster dialogue between people affected by this conflict, and in turn, a culture of understanding.”

Noah Levinson, Grade 12, Canyon Crest Academy: Noah has been a music entrepreneur since 7th grade, when he created NL Productions and began providing DJ and entertainment services. After enrolling in an evening Jewish ethics class at Congregation Beth El, he became equally passionate about providing opportunities for disadvantaged youth in his community. Noah shares that while “we are told that today’s youth are the leaders of tomorrow, how can teenagers experiencing homelessness, poverty, foster care, or abuse mature into compassionate, responsible adult leaders?” With strong family values about philanthropy and inspiration from his teen trip to Israel, Noah developed Hallow, a teen night club experience that raises awareness and funds for nonprofit organizations serving disadvantaged youth. Noah has held two Hallow events around Halloween and has raised funds for StandUpForKids and Just In Time Foster Youth. He is planning a third event for spring 2015.

The late Peter Chortek and his wife, Elaine, created this Award as part of the youth philanthropy program at the Jewish Community Foundation in 2011 to recognize local Jewish high school students who are practicing the value of Tikkun Olam, repairing the world. Each year three teens receive a $3,600 award, an additional $1,800 to give away to charity and a professionally filmed video about their project to inspire other teens to make a difference. More info is at www.jcfsandiego.org/pcla.

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Preceding provided by the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego.

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1 thought on “Three S.D. teens win Peter Chortek Leadership Awards”

  1. These teens are available to speak in the community! Please contact the Jewish Community Foundation if you would like to have them present at your school, synagogue, youth group or organization.

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