Youth Action Institute

No! Our programs are open to everyone and there will be no explicitly religious content presented. We will present Jewish values as a framework for why we care about making the world a better place.

All of our programs except the Tzedek B’Mitzvah Fellowship are free at this time. Please visit the Tzedek B’mitzvah Fellowship page to learn more about this 5-month fellowship program.

When a volunteer event is not easily accessible via public transportation, we will be providing transportation from and to the JCC.

All of our events are staffed by at least one professional, full-time staff member from the JCC as well as an additional part-time facilitator. All staff are over the age of 21 and have completed a background check.

As a teen-driven initiative, we put students at the heart of our decision-making. There are currently two formal leadership opportunities available:

1. The Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) is a teen advisory body that helps us make decisions about all aspects of our work from branding to programming to swag. Teens must apply and be accepted onto the YAC. Applications for the 2024-2025 school year will open in September.

2. The YAI’s chapter of the Jewish Youth Climate Movement is 100% teen-driven and -run. We are always looking for more teens to join and help put on climate action-related events. If interested, please reach out to Lyssa at ajellenik@edcjcc.org

We make every effort to accommodate teens of all abilities in our programs. Please communicate about how we can best support your teen and their needs with as much detail as you’re able to provide. In some instances, we may request that a participant come with a one-on-one if we don’t feel confident that we can serve all of their needs.

Because every school system and district has its own paperwork, we request that everyone provides their own community service form for us to sign. Please bring forms to each event or email them within 48 hours so we can return them in a timely manner.

No. ALL participants must sign up on our website prior to the start of the event. Due to capacity limits, we are unfortunately not be able to include anyone who doesn’t sign up in advance. Don’t worry though – signing up is easy and free.

Since all of our events have limited space, we ask that you email Lyssa at ajellenik@edcjcc.org as soon as possible.