Today’s Jewish teens are searching for spaces where they can come together, build friendships with peers and celebrate their Jewish identity in ways that are meaningful to them. 

Through The Associated network, we support a number of opportunities for teens to pursue their interests while building Jewish connections.  

Here are three stories of the impact of these programs on teens and their parents. 

“The Social Innovation Fellowship is a hands-on entrepreneurship program meant to inspire and empower Jewish teens to be entrepreneurs and change-makers in their community,” says Jayme. 

This year’s program included nine teams with nine separate business ideas. Recently, the teens presented their ventures at Demo Day, which was held at Towson University. 

“Hayden and her team collaborated to develop a template for a business called Bmore Nutritious, which aimed to bring healthier lunches to schools across Baltimore,” says Jayme. The team was mentored by Andrew Buerger, Chief Strategy Officer, Taharka Brothers. 

“When Andy jumped in, that was exciting because she could see how it works in the real world.” 

“Hayden really liked meeting Jewish kids from other schools. It was satisfying for her to see how in every meeting, they would build on what they did before. They saw how some things are successful, some things aren’t. And if they’re not, you go back to the drawing board. It was great for her to see the project come together.” 

Jonah’s team worked on a venture called the Stress-Free Zone. 

“The Stress-Free Zone is a place where kids can go during the day, where there are calming sounds, swings   and tutors to help you with your work. You can relieve stress there and then get back to class.”  

Jonah says the Fellowship taught him a great deal about seeing a project through from beginning to end. 

“When we presented our idea at the Demo Day at Towson University, the judges told us we had a phenomenal idea, but they said we needed to dig deeper. They said slow and steady wins the race. We had to take our time.”  

Spending time with other Jewish teens was especially meaningful for Jonah, who expects the friendships he made to be long-lasting. “There aren’t a lot of Jews in the world,” he says. “We need to stick together to fight antisemitism.” 

“In each session, we do different activities together,” says Hannah. The last one we did was about mental health — being in tune with your own mental health and noticing warning signs for mental health problems with your friends. I thought that that was a really important activity because a lot of the time, teenagers hide what they’re really feeling and what they’re going through. If you can start seeing those warning signs, it could save a life.” 

In another activity, students learned their personality types. “I was an altruist. It was really cool to see what others were, and it really made sense,” says Hannah. 

“PLF helped to center me in my faith, now that I don’t attend Jewish day school anymore. It made all of the actions that I take in my Jewish journey, feel more meaningful.” 

Hannah, who hopes to try 4Front’s Diller Fellows program next, urges other Jewish teens to get involved.

“I think it’s important for all Jewish teens to be connected in at least one way to their faith, especially with everything going on since October 7th. It’s easy to feel lonely without a community of other Jewish teens.”

Associated Network Teen Programs
4Front Signature Programs * 
• Peer Leadership Fellows 
• Social Innovation Fellowship 
• Diller Teen Fellows 
• Gesher Teen Board Members 
• Teen Service Council 
Baltimore Jewish Council
• Social Justice Teen Fellowship 
JCC
• Maccabi Games  
Jewish Community Services
• School Programming – Substance abuse, healthy relationships, mindfulness and well-being 

* 4Front is the Baltimore Jewish Community’s comprehensive teen initiative, managed by the Jewish Community Center (JCC) and supported by The Associated, the Jim Joseph Foundation, the Joseph & Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds and other local donors.

Support our teens through our Annual Campaign at associated.org/give.