Voices: The Chicago Jewish Teen Foundation, a program of the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago, has awarded grants totaling $67,164 to 11 Jewish non-profits in Chicago and in Israel. The grants will help fund projects and initiatives ranging from food and support for local families in need, educational opportunities, vocational services, and victims of domestic abuse, among others.

Over the past year, the Voices 101 Foundation-a group of 25 high school students from around the Chicago metropolitan area-gained practical philanthropic experience by researching community needs, performing due diligence, writing grant guidelines and requests for proposals, and conducting site visits.

“Voices teaches students not only how to give money away, but how to do it strategically,” said Quincy Hirt, 15. “This is the key to philanthropy,”

Stephanie Goldfarb, JUF Director of Youth Philanthropy and Leadership, said, “Our teen board members have set a new bar for what Jewish teen engagement can look like when given the right support and resources to do the work they care about most.”

Almost half of the teens from the Voices 101 Foundation will graduate into the Voices Alumni Foundation next year, where they will use their prior experience to perform more specialized and focused philanthropic work. This year’s cohort of 12 alumni launched a seven-month fundraising campaign, raising $15,000, including a match from an anonymous donor. They also served as peer mentors for Voices 101 participants.

“This accomplishment is not only remarkable for a group of Jewish philanthropists at any age, but it also signifies our community’s increasing commitment to pluralistic teen engagement and investment in our future leaders,” Goldfarb said.

Over the past 11 years, Voices board members have granted a total of $403,907.

“Voices has taught me the importance of caring about the world beyond the bubble I live in. It has shown me the impact anyone, even a group of teenagers, can have on their community,” said Josh Rosenkranz, 18. “Voices has given me the tools to make philanthropy a habit, rather than just an isolated act of kindness.”

Applications for the 2015-2016 Voices program are currently being accepted, and outstanding high school freshman through seniors are invited to apply. Applications are available online athttp://juf.org/teens/Voices_About.aspx

Voices 101 grants totaling $27,760:

EZRA Multiservice Center: Housing Support and Advocacy Program : $5,760 – This program helps individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness find affordable housing, and helps individuals who are currently housed to maintain their housing and avoid eviction through counseling and a variety of programs.

SHALVA: Project Hope Discretionary Fund: $8,000 – SHALVA offers free confidential domestic abuse counseling services to the Chicago Jewish Community, providing culturally sensitive services in a safe and caring environment and helping over 4,000 Jewish women since 1986. Project Hope allows SHALVA clinicians to provide monetary assistance for clients in emergency situations.

NIRIM: Wilderness Therapy Program: $5,000 – Nirim empowers high-risk Israeli youth with an opportunity to overcome their harsh life circumstances by employing two unique educational-therapeutic settings: The Nirim Youth Village and Nirim in the Neighborhoods – a community outreach.

Hand in Hand: Dialogue Training for Students and Teachers and Hand in Hand High School, Jerusalem: $8,000 – Hand in Hand was founded in 1998 to help build a more inclusive society in Israel through the creation of integrated schools and communities for Jewish and Arab citizens. This dialogue program will help students internalize the message that despite their differences, they must create an inclusive, shared society.

Jewish United Fund Annual Campaign (JUF) : $1,000 – JUF is focused on helping people in need, rescuing people in danger, and keeping Jewish life strong.

Voices Alumni grants totaling $39,404 :

CJE: Home Delivered Meals: $8,000 – CJE’s Home-Delivered Meals program helps to fulfill the agency’s mission by reducing the food insecurity of low-income, homebound seniors. Clients rely on this program because they have difficulty paying for groceries and are physically and/or cognitively unable to shop and cook for themselves.

EZRA Multiservice Center: JUF Uptown Café and Food Pantry: $6,500 – The JUF Uptown Café provides hot, nutritious kosher dinners three nights each week and brunch on Sundays, while the Food Pantry provides nutritionally balanced supplemental food bags filled with items personally selected to best meet a client’s individual needs and diet.

Jewish Vocational Services (JVS): Ready…Set…Work! $7,904 – JVS Chicago’s Ready…Set…Work! Program offers targeted vocational services for youth, ages 18-24, with special healthcare needs, providing opportunities for developing lifelong success, productivity and independence.

JCFS/Response: Center for Sexual Health: $8,000 – Response’s mission is to empower teens to make healthy choices. The Center for Sexual Health will provide more than 200 adolescents with affordable and confidential healthcare services by subsidizing extremely low-income individuals’ services, which include transportation, counseling, medical services and sex education; and launching a mother/daughter sex education and discussion group.

The Lone Soldier Center: Shabbat Meal Program and Job Fairs : $8,000 – The Lone Soldier Center in memory of Michael Levin was founded by former lone soldiers to support, assist, feed, connect and care for lone soldiers in the IDF, before, during and after their Israel army service. This grant will cover the cost of Shabbat meals for approximately 200 soldiers, as well as partial cost of a vocational coach to help soldiers improve their resumes and assist them with their job search.

JUF Annual Campaign: $1,000 – The JUF Annual Campaign focuses on helping people in need, rescuing people in danger, and keeping Jewish life strong.