By Joel Magalnick, Editor, JTNews
Richelle Willner Martin and Gabi Benisti hold the trophy from their victory at the national Jewish Unity Mentoring Program Challenge, a program of the NCSY youth group. The pair was one of four teams from around the country to travel to New York this week to compete in the challenge. Representing teammates Ruth Boldor, Shira Puterman, Sara Greene, and Julia Appelbaum, and joined by adviser Nina Garkavi, the students were given the mission to “successfully create and execute four events relating to Israel advocacy, Jewish values, Holocaust remembrance and bullying, as well as a fundraising event for their school and community,” according to the Orthodox Union’s JUMP web page. The Seattle team created the “Insecuri-T’s Campaign,” which got high schoolers from across the region to create t-shirts with slogans to help them overcome personal insecurities and break down stereotypes.
The purpose of the program is to educate high school students about leadership through action while giving them an understanding of global issues that affect Jewish people today.