GROUP Honorees
Federation's, Diller Teen Fellows & Iris Teen Advisors focus on making the world a better place through Tikkun Olam. Each year the teens bring the values of Tzedakah into action with hands on service-learning opportunities to make our community a better place. This past December for the Holiday of hanukkah, they spread light in Newark! The teens packed 50 bags of cereal, canned food, snacks, and more, which they then distributed outside the synagogue. We had a blast spreading light by handing out donuts, hot chocolate, and bags of food to community members as they stopped by. Parents volunteered in the synagogue, helping to clear space for a future play space for young children. In making a difference for those in need, the teens and parents felt a tremendous impact on themselves. Having these teens give of their time and treasure to the underserved in our community is a blessing and we are honored to recognize them.
Project HEART (Help End All Racist Thinking), an anti-bias program rooted in the Arts for K-2 students, was founded by Millburn High School student Olivia Shidler. Committed to building identity and community in the hopes of helping to shape a more just world, Olivia and her Newark teammates, Mary Ojo and JadeToseafa, seniors at Newark Arts High School -- supported by mentors Dr. Devonne De Nose, Director of Visual and Performing Arts at the Newark Board of Education, and Dr. Larissa Skinner, Department Chair of the Department of Music, Visual Art, Cinematography & Media at Arts High School in Newark -- launched Project HEART Newark in February. Olivia, Jade, and Mary have since visited six Newark K-2 classrooms on multiple occasions and taught about 120 students in the Newark Public Schools about appreciating our differences, which make us unique and special, and coming together as one humanity. They accomplish this through the Arts: reading picture books by authors like bell hooks; guiding the students on how to draw their own self-portraits that reflect their inner and outer selves; and singing songs that foster an appreciation for diversity and inclusion. Olivia is thrilled that Ahavas Sholom has partnered with her to help bring the program, which originated and is still going strong at Temple B'nai Jeshurun in Short Hills, to Newark.
Since its founding in 2019, Clinton Hill Community Action (CHCA) has become a cornerstone of Newark’s South Ward, transforming the neighborhood through a model of resident-led revitalization. CHCA is a community development organization that operates under the guiding principle: "Nothing about us, without us, is for us." While their work spans housing justice, food security, the arts and advocacy, their core strength lies in bridging the gap between institutional resources and the lived experiences of Clinton Hill residents. This includes building on the history of the neighborhood. That history is being recorded by a team of residents and local historians, who are digging into the roots of the neighborhood’s story over the years. We are chronicling the time when the neighborhood was largely Jewish, and as that transitioned highlighting the relationship between African-Americans and Jews at pivotal moments in Newark and the nation's reckoning with race and social justice. We are proud to be home of B'Nai Abraham Temple once led by Rabbi Joachim Prinz, who spoke at the March on Washington with Dr. King and even hosted King at the synagogue when he visited Newark. Our Executive Director Khaatim Sherrer El has been an active member of the Black-Jewish Dialogues convened by NJ Performing Arts Center, where he hopes to extend these conversations and opportunities to break bread with current residents and former Jewish residents to deepen the pride in our history of allyship and a shared story for freedom as we work together to revitalize the Clinton Hill neighborhood.