Winning
the Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Award has been an amazing experience that is
opening up so many doors for me. Each year, the Diller Foundation awards 15
young Jewish leaders from around the country with $36,000 grants to further
their education or projects that practice the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam, or Repairing the World.
Recently, I was named one of the 2021 winners for my project Covid-TV, which is
a platform connecting teens from over 10 countries around the world during the
pandemic.
At
the first meeting with the rest of the recipients, the foundation told us we
were not just winning an award, but being welcomed into a family. I have found
that family is the exact correct word to describe the foundation. By the end of
the first zoom call, I immediately felt connected to the other winners over a
shared love of Judaism and working to help others. The workers at the
foundation are kind, welcoming, and value social justice and taking action when
they see wrong in the world. The Diller Foundation is an incredible community,
and at the risk of sounding cliché, I can really say that I’m inspired by the other teens and
their projects that are changing the world. From 3D printing PPE for healthcare
workers to fighting for musical education in schools, I am so impressed by the
other winners and grateful to be in their community and a part of the Diller
Family.
I
also feel that besides receiving funding to continue and expand my project,
winning the Tikkun Olam award is a responsibility to continue living by my
Jewish Values and working to help others. Reading and sharing the stories of
other teens and their experiences during the pandemic helped me feel not so
alone during a time of social isolation. I hope that the community created by
Covid-TV helped other teens through the pandemic, and will continue to help
them in the transition back to a maskless world without Covid-19. As Covid-TV
grows, and as I grow, I have to remember to continue leading with my Jewish
faith and values of Chesed (kindness), Tikkun Olam (repairing the world), and
Kehilla (community) behind me.
I
feel so lucky and grateful to be given this opportunity, and to be so welcomed
into the foundation. It really is an amazing community, and I am eternally
grateful for all the support I have received from the Jewish community to teach
me the value of doing good for others and to get me to where I am today.
Bio:
Lauren Tapper is a rising Junior at the University of Chicago Laboratory
Schools in Chicago. She Co-founded Covid-TV, an online platform connecting
teens during the pandemic and igniting them in social justice projects to help
struggling communities in the face of Covid-19. In her free time, she loves
participating on her school’s Model UN team, walking her dog on the Chicago
Lake path, and is an avid smoothie drinker.