SAN DIEGO (Press Release) — Each year the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego (JCF) facilitates the Peter Chortek Leadership Award (PCLA), an award created by the Chortek Family to foster Jewish communal involvement by rewarding Jewish teens who are practicing Tikkun Olam, repairing the world.
The Peter Chortek Leadership Award was established in 2011 by the Chortek Family to honor the late Peter Chortek z”l. Peter was not religious but was fiercely proud of being Jewish and committed to making a difference. His passion and focus was Jewish education, believing quality Jewish education would help ensure a vibrant Jewish future. For Peter, this meant being supportive of venues that would exude Jewish continuity, such as day schools, Jewish camps, Hillel, Birthright, March of the Living, Jewish Community Centers, and synagogues. A total of 25 awards have been presented to date.
This award recognizes Jewish high school students in San Diego who are making a difference in our community through their innovative leadership. Applicants must 1) Currently be in high school and have organized and led an extraordinary Tikkun Olam project that has benefited their neighborhood, community, environment, or world; 2) Demonstrate initiative, passion, and positive spirit, inspiring others to make a difference and creating awareness about their issue, cause, or project; and 3) Have a long-term vision for growth and sustainability for their work and have been involved with their project for at least one year before submitting an application.
Peter Chortek Leadership Award recipients receive a $5,400 stipend, $540 to establish a Donor Advised Fund at the Jewish Community Foundation, and a professional video made about their project. This year the awards committee chose five recipients for the Peter Chortek Leadership Award. These awards were presented recently at a celebratory brunch for recipients and their families. All recipients have a passion for making a difference in our community, inspiring their peers to also get involved in service projects or social justice programs. The Committee is comprised of members of the Chortek family and other community leaders. Sammy and Shana Chortek Weisman, Peter Chortek z”l’s grandchildren, will join the awards committee next year, representing the third generation of the Chortek family.
Lola and Sophie Bulkin will be beginning their senior year at Del Norte High School and are the co-Founders of the Together as One movement. These twins, together with a childhood friend, created this movement to educate teens about the prejudices experienced by their peers to eliminate those biases and spread unity and positivity. They spread this message by sharing their own stories, spreading kindness throughout the community, and bringing people together. Lola and Sophie have also placed importance on donating money to various causes, including teen mental health. Their message has reached ten high school campuses both locally and internationally.
Ashley Cohen will be beginning her senior year at the Lawrenceville School and created Helping the Hungry Virtually. Ashley saw how many members of the community were being affected by COVID-19 and wanted to help provide those people with as much food as possible. Her project is now in seven states around the country and has provided over 200 families with gift cards to various supermarkets. Ashley found a group of teens from all over the nation and united them with the common interest of helping people dealing with food insecurity due to COVID-19. Ashley is committed to continuing this project into the future.
Natalie Goldwasser will be beginning her senior year at The Bishops School. Her project addresses the issue of education inequity. Natalie started her own organization called Kids Too that has donated over five thousand dollars’ worth of school supplies to students at under-resourced schools across San Diego County. She made it her mission to inspire others who are driven towards community service to go out and pursue that idea. Natalie said that from a young age she cared about the under-privileged students at her school and wanted to do something to help. She has made that vision a reality.
Abigail Holman will be beginning her senior year at La Jolla Country Day and is the current president of Serving Spoons, a nonprofit organization that prepares and delivers healthy meals to families in need. Abigail assumed the leadership role in July of 2018, and has poured herself into the organization, increasing the number of people they help from 17 to 32 people, in 10 different families, each month. Abigail combines her love of cooking with her passion for community service to help those who suffer from food insecurity. Abigail believes that the best part is not just serving others, it is getting to talk to the people she is helping and learn more about them.
Applications for the 2022 Peter Chortek Leadership Award will be available as early as September 2021 and will be due January 2022. Students are encouraged to start thinking about service projects that qualify, and those who meet the application criteria are invited to participate in this remarkable opportunity. Competitive applicants for this award will have dedicated significant time and commitment to creating a new project or program to improve their communities, enhancing an existing project, or inspiring a large numbers of their peers to get involved in service projects or social justice programs.
Videos of all Peter Chortek Leadership Award winners can be viewed here – PCLA Videos.
For additional information on the Peter Chortek Leadership Award, please visit the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego’s website at www.jcfsandiego.org/pcla.
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Preceding provided by the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego