Teen Committee
The Teen Committee defines the vision and mission of CAJE’s Teen Education & Engagement: The Center for Teen Leadership. Their mission is to lead the community, its organizations, and its youth professionals, towards providing a range of opportunities that will engage Jewish teens, keep them connected to the Jewish people, and involve them in Jewish learning and growth. In partnership with the professional team, the committee develops proposals for new initiatives, evaluates current programs and provides resources to professionals working with teens. Programs include:
- Diller Teen Fellows - Miami's premiere immersive leadership development program inviting a select group of Jewish 10th and 11th graders from 6 continents and 32 communities to connect with one another, step up, lead their communities, and repair the world through experiential education. Throughout the yearlong Fellowship, teens develop leadership skills, connect in a global network of peers, strengthen their Jewish identities, and create ripples of good throughout the world.
- IsraelNow - eighth graders from Miami discover the life-long value of a trip to Israel. This educational program is designed to give participants an immersive, emotional and memorable taste of Israel and their Jewish heritage through a week-long, “hands-on” experience. From new friendships to a new appreciation of Jewish culture and history, these teens dive into immersive, educational experiences and make life-long connections. The ultimate goal is that participants return home inspired to further their Jewish involvement in the community through continued engagement in Jewish learning experiences and activities.
- Miami’s Leo Martin March of the Living - an identity-building program that uses Poland and Israel as a platform to study the history of the Holocaust and examine the roots of prejudice, intolerance and hatred. This identity-building opportunity begins with a six-month journey in Miami culminating in a two-week international experience where teens from Miami-Dade join others from around the world to bear witness to the destruction resulting from the Holocaust in Poland and then travel to Israel to rejoice in the Jewish Homeland. On the program, participants commemorate Yom HaShoah [Holocaust Memorial Day] marching from Auschwitz to Birkenau, they observe Yom HaZikaron [Israel’s Memorial Day] and celebrate Yom Ha’Atzmaut [Israel’s Independence Day] in Israel.
- JTeen Miami - an online resource for teens, their families and the Jewish professionals who work with Miami teens. This website, created by CAJE Teen Department at The Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE), showcases our community’s rich menu of programs and opportunities for teens and their families while also supporting professionals with resources.
Learn more at CAJE-Miami.org/teens
