Diller awards program inspires young Jewish leaders

 

By Jacob Gardenswartz

Jacob Gardenswartz
Jacob Gardenswartz

PHILADELPHIA –For most of my life, I found the idea of “inspiration” to be nice but quixotic; it was something that happened to other people, artist or musicians maybe, but not to me.  To students my age who spoke about how they were inspired to do X or Y, I gave a smile and a subtle eye-roll.  When  I won the Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Award, however, all that changed.  I was introduced to 14 of the most incredible Jewish students from across the country, and was truly inspired to redouble my efforts working in my community.

I was selected to be a recipient of the Diller award in 2014 for my work throughout Francis Parker High School in San Diego with an organization that used live theatre to combat bullying in schools.  Though I certainly found the time I spent in the schools with which we partnered to be incredibly meaningful, I had no real intention of continuing once I left for the University of Pennsylvania.  With the Diller award and the $36,000 prize money came a requirement to attend the recipients’ weekend in late-August.  Initially, I was quite frustrated that I’d have to miss my freshman orientation to be in San Francisco for the conference.  However that weekend proved to be one of the most important events in the progress of my service and stands as a true inspiration point for the creation of ImpACT on Stage.

A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, ImpACT on Stage’s mission is to promote and enact social change through the use of live theater, by students for students.  Through a variety of interactive, in-your-face performance assemblies in schools and community centers, student ‘ImpACTors’ share stories of bullying and tolerance of diversity with fourth through twelfth graders, helping participants become more aware of what constitutes bullying behaviors and feel more confident advocating for themselves and for their peers in bullying situations.  Additionally, ImpACT provides partner schools with a proprietary pre- and post-program curricula, tied to the Common Core Standards, that ensures such dialogues continue in the schools long after our program has concluded.  To date, ImpACT has worked with hundreds of students throughout San Diego and Southern California, and has raised nearly $100,000 for the cause.

Connecting with the other Diller award recipients and learning how they lead their service organizations has surely furthered my commitment to student leadership and peer-to-peer programming within ImpACT.  But beyond the inspiration I’ve received for my work with my organization, I now know that I’m a part of an amazing community of young Jewish leaders, teens with whom I can get Shabbat dinner whenever I’m visiting their campus or crash on their couch when I need someplace to stay in New York City for a weekend of business meetings.  Winning the Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Award means more than a one-time prize, but rather the induction into a tight-knit community of changemakers who continually inspire me the more I get to know them.

And so I urge any students out there who think they might be interested to apply!  The benefits are endless and truly life-changing, and speak to the vision and generosity of Helen Diller in her creation of such a wonderful program.  Tikkun Olam, “repairing the world,” is a daunting task, but the resources and connections the Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Award provides make it that much more achievable.  The award certainly had a profound impact on me.

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Jacob Gardenswartz is a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania studying Communication and Public Service (ComPS) and Nonprofit Management.