Dear Teen Community, We hope that you're having a wonderful summer, whether you're here in New Rochelle or travelling the world. Parents,please share your teens' summer addresses here, so we can send them some mail!
We are also happy to launch our application for our Teen Trip to Washington, D.C. in November! We are partnering with Generations Church, a local church in downtown New Rochelle, in which we will take ten 9th-12th graders from each community to explore our shared histories. We will spend two days/three nights visiting the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. Oh, did we also mention that it's free?! Thanks to a generous grant through the UJA Federation, we are able to offer this amazing opportunity to our communities at no cost.
The Meyer-Gottesman Kol Koleinu Teen Feminist Fellowship is a year-long program for female, non-binary and trans teens, entering 9-12th grade, who want to dive into the idea of community through a Jewish, feminist, and activist lens. Fellows spend the year meeting online and at two in-person retreats building inter-generational relationships with other teens and mentoring adults, filling their activist toolbox, and creating a capstone project that impacts their local community. Here is what one of our participants said about their experience:
I loved being able to foster the connections with everyone inside and out of my cohort. Kol Koleinu was one of the most welcoming and inspiring things I have ever been a part of and I couldn't be more grateful to have this experience not once but twice and meet all of these amazing activists. Through the program I was able to have constructive conversations and connect on a deeper level even if we didn’t have the same opinions. Kol Koleinu has provided me with support when it’s come to being the only Jew in my school, or when I need someone to talk to who will understand my concerns about Israel and where I'm coming from. Overall, Kol Koleinu will always have a place in my heart and my journey/passion towards feminism and equality. – KK Teen Leader (2nd year participant)
