Strong Women Fellowship

 

Period poverty is one of the most overlooked struggles, yet it still manages to affect more than 40 million people here in the United States alone, according to the Shriver Report. In January, the Jumpspark Strong Women Fellowship hosted a Zoom meeting to discuss the topics of period poverty, menstrual equity, and what the Atlanta community can do to create change. Lorrie L. King, former public health and humanitarian response professional, spoke to the group about how her experiences have taught her about the importance of advocating for menstrual aid projects and educating people on menstrual issues. Another big component of the event was involved with Project Dignity, a program created by the Jewish Federation to bring people facing period poverty the supplies and education they need to maintain menstrual hygiene. 

The event kicked off with a brief explanation of the purpose of Project Dignity, and Lorrie presented a video about period poverty. Produced with women experiencing homelessness in New York City, this video was made to open the eyes of people around the country to what unhoused people who menstruate go through each month. 

Many people living on the streets and facing poverty, in general, are forced to choose between necessary menstrual hygiene commodities and food because the products are overpriced. Rather than purchasing the typically expensive period products, people have resorted to using all types of materials to “take care” of their period. Some of these include napkins, socks, leaves, rags, and shirts, all of which do not meet the standards of safe-to-use products. 

Later in our session, the group began discussing the history behind periods and how the menstrual cycle used to be something celebrated but has slowly become something taboo and to be ashamed of among many cultures. Many menstruating people in places like Western Nepal are removed from their primary living spaces and sent to unsanitary huts while they are on their periods. These women are cast out and are forced to live in sheds with the farm animals because menstruating is considered to be dirty and impure. 

This culture of removing women from their homes and placing them in the subtropical elements, such as extreme temperatures and high altitudes, causes many women to be prone to further health issues and to die. Girls living in these areas have been neglected and are uneducated about their own bodies. They do not understand what happens to them every month, nor where the blood even comes from. This lack of education and information leads to extreme misinformation among the culture, which causes more pain and suffering for women. 

Period poverty is a global issue, but it also affects many people here in Atlanta, and Project Dignity also works to help create change locally. Periods are a personal topic, especially for young people who have to manage their period while going to school and maintaining education. This month, Project Dignity is focusing on donating menstrual products to high schools in the Atlanta community. According to a survey done by State of the Period, 1 in 5 teenagers suffer from period poverty, and many high schoolers who get their periods are not supplied with necessary items such as pads and tampons during their school week, which Project Dignity is trying to change. 

Periods should not be something that has to impair the education and school days of teenagers. Pads and tampons should be supplied in restrooms of public schools to ensure that no student will have to worry about how they will manage their period. 

Another major initiative of Project Dignity this month is to help provide menstrual products for local refugee centers. When refugees arrive in Atlanta, they are each given packs filled with essentials; however, these packs almost never include period supplies. Project Dignity has set up an Amazon wishlist to make it as easy as possible for people to donate period supplies. Both of these missions are equally important and can easily be achieved with the support and generosity of our community. 

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Leah Moradi, 16, is a sophomore at The Weber School in Sandy Springs, GA, who enjoys being with friends, reading, and advocating for topics she is passionate about.

This article was originally published in VOX ATL. Read the full article here.

 

“Participating in the fellowships enabled me to make some of my closest Jewish friends from across the country and channel my passion for social change into real action,” writes JumpSpark Strong Woman Fellow Sarah Dowling.

Pictured: JumpSpark Strong Woman Fellows share community building time with activist Logan Zinman Gerber (top right)

Sarah: I first realized the need for meaningful and effective gun violence prevention legislation in 2016, when an angry former teacher at my sister’s school was intercepted by the police on his way back to school with a gun and ammunition he bought immediately after being fired. 

I learned to turn my passion into action by working with Logan Zinman Gerber, who runs a high school fellowship to teach teens across the country how to enact social change on topics like gun violence prevention, and, in the future, racial justice. Logan taught me about gun violence prevention in a social justice seminar held by the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC), and helped me present a speech to my United States congressional representatives alongside other Jewish teenagers from my community to lobby for gun violence prevention. 

About a month later, I joined two RAC fellowships, both of which were led by Logan. My gun violence prevention fellowship allowed me to learn about the complex issue in a nuanced light, providing me with the tools I needed for action. I looked forward to each session, and I never left a meeting without something new to think about. 

Participating in the fellowships enabled me to make some of my closest Jewish friends from across the country and channel my passion for social change into real action. For my culminating fellowship project, I led a voter registration campaign that reached over 500 people. Logan still continues to support and inspire me, and meeting with her as part of JumpSpark’s Strong Women Fellowship reminded me of the importance of activism and unity as a whole, especially in the context of the recent attack on the Capitol, which highlighted the division in our nation and reminded us that white supremacy still stands strong.

Eva: While many teens feel stranded this year, discovering opportunities to make a change regarding issues that are important to us is especially important in times as turbulent as the present. Whether we like it or not, our lives are changing, making it all the more important to reflect on our pasts and plan how we want to continue our journeys in the future just as Logan taught us. This year, I have opened my eyes to the world around me, and discovered for myself what issues are important to me. In the past, I have volunteered for a gun violence prevention organization. Hearing from Logan, who has done incredible work regarding gun violence prevention, really helped me to understand what a global issue gun violence is. With this new knowledge, I can decide for myself what I want to do in the future to create change, all while incorporating my Jewish identity. 

When Logan met with our Strong Women Fellowship in November, she pushed each of us to reflect on our own journeys and relationships with Judaism and activism thus far in our lives. Logan has spent the past two years leading teen gun violence prevention and civic engagement campaigns for the Reform Jewish Movement, connecting with half a million voters. In addition, she has been active in her outside work as the national volunteer coordinator for the American Cancer Society, where she assists people in coping with transition, as well as sharing their cancer stories. 

Our session with Logan fostered a greater sense of connection and understanding between the members of our Fellowship. In one activity where we created timelines of our Jewish journey, we found countless similarities among the handful of other girls in our breakout groups. In particular, we all found that while times of isolation from the Jewish community hurt us emotionally in the moment, in the end, these times pushed us to find our own connection to Judaism and only worked to strengthen our Jewish identities. The farther each of us got from Judaism, the stronger our desire for connection grew.

In addition, Logan connected activism and making change to the Jewish value of tikkun olam, repairing the world. Writing anonymously on a Padlet (an online discussion board, where we had posted questions for everyone to reflect upon), several Strong Women Fellows described this connection and how it inspires them: 

“Tikkun olam inspires me to create change. It is also powerful to know that helping in the world was something that my ancestors did.” 

Another Strong Women Fellow described Judaism as “… the coffee in my activism – it fuels everything I do.”

Making these connections was both powerful for us as Jews, and as activists as well. In addition to empowering us to examine our own connections to Judaism and activism, Logan gave the Strong Women Fellows resources we need to pursue tikkun olam in the future, such as her gun violence prevention campaign geared toward young people. 

“There are so many amazing resources out there to help others get registered to vote,” one Strong Women Fellow wrote on the Padlet. 

By giving us the knowledge we need to make personal connections to Judaism and the principle of tikkun olam, meeting with Logan inspired us to create positive change in the world in a way that models our Jewish values.

What we found to be the biggest takeaway from our meeting was that anyone can make a difference. We realized that we all can work to create a world we want to live in and that our work does not have to wait. Each of us has issues we care about, from gun violence to racial justice to climate change to reproductive rights, so we can all fight to create change, one step at a time.

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Eva Beresin, 16, is a sophomore at The Weber School in Sandy Springs, GA, who enjoys reading and spending time with friends.

Sarah Dowling, 16, is a junior at The Lovett School in Atlanta who enjoys listening to music and reading

This article was originally published by VOX ATL. Read the full article here.

Caroline Rothstein, an internationally touring writer, spoken word poet and performer, spoke to a group of Atlanta teens about your own personal gods, Judaism in today, self-love, anti-semitism, and reincarnation, inspiring us to take her words into our lives and realize a greater truth in the world we face as young and Jewish women. 

Rothstein has performed poetry, recited speeches, and led workshops at colleges, schools, community organizations, and other performance spaces. She was able to present to us in an interactive, non-toxic, yet inspiring space — even on Zoom. 

Last fall, we had an amazing opportunity to get to know Rothstein prior to the JumpSpark Strong Women Fellowship full-group meeting. We learned how to effectively interact in a safe space on topics she planned to bring to the Jewish teens across Atlanta who come together (now virtually) to empower, learn from, and educate each other so we could take her experiences to benefit our own.

As soon as the famous “ding-dong” went off in the Zoom call, we were immediately struck by Caroline’s energy and presence. Despite being virtual, her contagious smile translated extremely well and lit up the (virtual) workspace. She immediately made us feel welcome and relieved for the discussion. She asked how everyone was doing on the call, and it felt so natural to speak with her. 

Quite frankly, prior to the call, we figured we would probably talk about whatever the speaker-of-the-month wanted to talk about, having the common somewhat-awkward Zoom call atmosphere. But Caroline was different. Instead of having an already prepared and rigid event, we were able to discuss with her what we thought the event should be about. We kicked off our discussion by talking broadly about matters we think are vital to discuss today, with ideas like body image and racial injustices. 

Caroline did not just hear, but listened to the actual words we were saying. It felt extremely personable that we were able to guide and facilitate the focus of the event, while understanding that with the constantly changing world, the subject matter could change. 

Around two days prior to the large-group meeting, Caroline sent us an email, pretty much checking in, asking if we thought the topic we had decided on was still applicable and was tailored appropriately for the culture of the world. Caroline teaches us how to observe the world around us and illustrate the idea of recognition of our surroundings. The flexibility Caroline taught and encouraged helped this group of teens to understand how omnipresent issues in the world are ever changing.

During the full group event, Caroline shared her poems and performed spoken word. She was able to convey a message and strong feelings through each poem. We could see how strong she is, as she was able to be so vulnerable through her poetry. 

We also did a couple writing exercises. We loved the letter we wrote to ourselves. Miriam wrote about how sometimes in her busy life she needs to take a moment to think and have a peaceful moment.

“Dear Miriam of the past, Life may be hectic so it’s alright to take a bit more time for yourself sometimes. Stay in your bed longer if you want or do a 15 step skincare routine.”

Overall, Caroline was an amazing speaker, and we’d love to hear more of her poems in the future. She left us with the feeling that it is OK to be every single part of ourselves, no matter the circumstances or how different you are. Because of Caroline, in the future, we feel that we will be able to do what we want in our professional and personal lives.

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Miriam Raggs is a 10th grader at The Weber School and Noa Young is a 10th grader at North Springs High School. Both are second-year Fellows and Peer Leaders for the JumpSpark Strong Women Fellowship.

Read the original article published in VoxAtl here.

Story by Mollie Binderman and Audrey Zeff

Now more than ever students need to be prepared for life after school. Internships can introduce you to new careers and make you more prepared for a job of your own.

That’s why it was so impactful hearing Lauren Berger discuss how to find internships and jobs as part of this year’s JumpSpark Strong Women Fellowship. The Fellowship is geared toward teens, many of whom are beginning or have begun the process of college applications, or even making the decision to head straight into the career field. Getting advice on internships and careers from Berger was extremely impactful, because we as young adults are starting to face the time for decision-making for our future. 

JumpSpark’s Strong Women Fellowship is an educational and empowering program where Jewish teen girls talk about issues facing the world and learn to be leaders. We hear from inspiring people all the time. Last month, we got to hear from Berger, who has two websites, one targeted at adults to help them find jobs, and one focused on college and high school students like us. Her website, Internqueen helps us take the next steps in our career by finding internships according to our passions. 

 

According to Internqueen, Berger’s advice has reached the ears of 6 million people and helped shape their careers. She has also written books and been featured on many notable media outlets like Business Insider, Forbes, Teen Vogue, The Today Show, and more. Lauren’s YouTube channel also has more than 2 million views.

Berger talked about a wide variety of career advice, including how useful it is for high schoolers to get internships. Internships allow job-like experiences and are great on college resumes, which is especially helpful as you’re thinking about college. During the meeting she discussed her own story with us and shared her mistakes and achievements. We all learned a lot about the dos and don’ts when applying and completing internships.

Here are a few of our key take-aways and lessons we learned.

“I learned that it is okay to relax and take a break once in a while.” – Emma

“The value of LinkedIn!” – Rebecca

“To keep up with connections because they may be helpful later!” – Katie

“Reach out to professional contacts at least 3 times a year!” – Audrey

“You should always stay in contact with people.” – Ella

“To always follow up with a thank you email and/or note.” – Mollie

“I really liked learning about how I can effectively prepare for the future!” – Eva

“Always stay in contact with people.” – Rachel

“It’s okay to fail.” – Ariel

Hearing from a speaker like Lauren is so impactful on teens like us as we are growing older and trying to figure out questions like what career we will want to have in 10 years.

Mollie Binderman, 16, is a sophomore at North Springs Charter High School in Sandy Springs, who enjoys hanging out with friends and cooking. Audrey Zeff, 15, is a sophomore at Grady High School who loves playing volleyball and hanging out with friends. They are both participants in the Strong Women Fellowship.

This article was originally published on VOX ATL. Read it here.

Her Campus Media is an 100% woman-owned and -operated organization that provides the opportunity for college-age women to publish their voices, is the No. 1 media portfolio for college women, and works to serve and empower young women. The Founder, Stephanie Kaplan Lewis, recently spoke to JumpSpark’s Strong Women Fellowship, pointing out major lessons that she had learned from her experience starting a successful business. 

Lewis gave useful insights meant to guide any young woman who will one day start a business. Her tips include: follow your passions, build a killer team, pump out a business plan, put the pressure on, and spend hardly any money. 

After her initial presentation, Lewis paused for questions, which gave Fellows an opportunity to ask about her experience or ask for guidance about their own projects and aspirations. For instance, Ariella Ayenesazan, a 9th grader at Peachtree Ridge High School, is following her passion through her own mask business and asked intriguing questions on how to grow her business on different platforms like Lewis did.

Next, Lewis led the Fellows in an exercise where the group discussed Impostor Syndrome and finding one’s purpose through questions like “what drives you?” and fill-in-the-blanks like “Sometimes I worry that I’m not as ___ everyone thinks I am.” Lewis was vulnerable with the group by sharing times when she doubts herself and opened the floor to those who wanted to share their thoughts, reactions, and feelings. 

Lewis began her dream while in college, where she met her colleagues as Harvard undergrads while running a student publication for women on campus. The publication’s popularity resonated with college women across the country who began asking for advice on starting something similar at their schools. She has continued on with her passion to this day. 

Lewis spoke to us as a leader who represents female empowerment, inspiring future generations. The interactive event allowed us to ask questions and stay involved. She responded with impactful answers, allowing everyone to be vulnerable and share some stories of our own lives.

Finally, Fellows created a reflective word cloud that included our feelings and takeaways from the meeting, which included words like “driven,” “inspired,” “strong” and “empowered.”

 

Here are a few of our take-aways. 

“It was great to meet a successful woman who was willing to share her expertise with us, and she even said we could reach out to her after the meeting and participate in some of the high school Her Campus media programs. I appreciated how open Lewis was in sharing times she failed so we would not repeat the same mistakes. One thing that I will take away is that if someone has enough drive and ambition, they can do whatever they put their mind to, which I think is an important message for young women and teens to hear, because it motivates them to act on their dreams.” – Amelia Heller

“Her story inspires me to create my own path in life, like maybe create my own business one day. She pulled out all the stops to make her dreams come true, which I aspire to do one day as well. Stephanie is someone we can all look up to and learn from. With hard work, anything is possible.” – Kayla Jacobs

“I learned a lot about what it takes to start a company and the struggles faced when doing so. [Lewis’] presentation was engaging and informative, and I definitely took a lot away from it, especially when we went around and challenged our ‘Imposter Syndrome’ views of ourselves.” – Alexa Freedman

I learned how she started her company with very low expenses. I also really loved the activities we did, because it showed how it is okay to show your vulnerable side.” – Ariella Ayenesazan

“It was so interesting to hear her story about how she created her magazine company. It was so inspiring.” – Miriam Raggs

“I learned that it is possible to start a company without any money. I also learned that sacrifices are necessary to be successful.” – Maya Laufer

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Amelia Heller, 15, is a sophomore at The Weber School in Atlanta. She loves musical theatre and hanging out with friends. Kayla Jacobs, 17, is a senior at Pope High School who loves to hang out with her friends, volunteer and shop online.

The Strong Women Fellowship aims to empower Jewish girls and young women through activities and speakers like Lewis who educate, energize, and empower the Fellows to be passionate and successful in their pursuits.

This article was originally published on VOX ATL. Read it here.

ATLANTA, GA – Jumpspark’s Strong Women Fellowship, an empowering educational cohort for Jewish teens in grades 9-12, has continued to grow in size and expand programming to feature a Teen Board leadership position for third year returning fellows to give oversight over the fellowship throughout the year, interest-based cohorts for increased community building among fellows, small group meetings using Moving Traditions’ Rosh Hodesh curriculum, and increased leadership responsibilities for second-year returning teens. The 68 fellows participating in 2020-21 represent 17 high schools and 14 synagogues from the Atlanta metro.

The Strong Women Fellowship, launched in fall 2018 with an initial cohort of 28 teens, provides unparalleled access to strong women leaders, thinkers and voices shaping their world. Each month fellows meet guest speakers, build relationships in small groups, and grapple with the issues facing young women. The program is funded by the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta, and the Jim Joseph Foundation.

After her experience in the fellowship last year, Sophie Kieffer said, “JumpSpark brought together an array of Jewish girls from across Atlanta with vastly different backgrounds, life experiences, and awareness of social issues. Our sessions taught us the skills to enter the world as college students, exposed us to the rich diversity of Jewish Atlanta, and heightened our awareness on the key social issues impacting our time.”

Monthly guests include local female Jewish professionals and leaders, as well as national leaders and influencers, that speak on relevant topics such as women in business, civic engagement, mental health, disability inclusion, and more. Guests this year include Stephanie Kaplan Lewis (co-founder, chief executive officer, and editor-in-chief of Her Campus), Lauren Berger (CEO & Founder of both CareerQueen.com and InternQueen.com), Caroline Rothstein (internationally touring and acclaimed writer, poet, and performer), Pamela Schuller (internationally known inclusion advocate), and more. For the full itinerary, visit https://jumpsparkatl.org/strong-jewish-women-speakers/.

New this year, JumpSpark has developed a Teen Leadership Board open to third year returning fellows to incorporate teen voice into every aspect of the fellowship. The Teen Board chose the speakers for the year and the topics to be discussed in the fellowship’s small groups. They will also give high-level feedback on the fellowship throughout the year and will continue to shape the fellowship’s growth and development.

The 2020-21 Teen Board includes:

Téa Barton

Emma Cohen

Lauren Cohn

Rachel Cohn

Sydney Fox

Tamar Guggenheim

Katie Hurwitz

Maya Laufer

Stella Mackler

Macy Mannheimer

Emma Nowitz

Lilah Presser

Zoe Siegel

Lili Stadler

Rene Walter

In addition, with the help of Rachel Alterman Wallack of VOX ATL, Atlanta’s home for uncensored teen publishing and self-expression, JumpSpark has reinvigorated a robust Peer Leader program for second year returning fellows offering leadership roles, tailored training and group facilitation resources, event planning experience, and resume-building skills and opportunities.

The 2020-21 Peer Leaders include:

Eva Beresin

Mollie Binderman

Rachel Binderman

Gabby Cope

Sarah Dowling

Alexa Freedman

Ruby Frohman

Julia Harris

Amelia Heller

Kayla Jacobs

Rebecca Kann

Phoebe Kaplan

Kira Mermelstein

Miriam Raggs

Skylar Rosenberg

Jenna Sailor

Peyton Schwartz

Noa Young

Audrey Zef

The 2020-21 Strong Women fellows are:

Ariella Ayenesazan, Peachtree Ridge HS c/o 2024

Téa Barton*, Riverwood Int’l School c/o 2021

Eva Beresin*, The Weber School c/o 2023

Mollie Binderman*, North Springs HS c/o 2023

Rachel Binderman*, The Weber School c/o 2022

Ella Brill, Decatur HS, c/o 2024

Maia Capuano, Alpharetta HS c/o 2024

Ryan Carter, Grady HS c/o 2024

Emma Cohen*, Woodward Academy c/o 2022

Lauren Cohn*, Riverwood Int’l School c/o 2021

Rachel Cohn*, Riverwood Int’l School c/o 2021

Dana Cohn, Riverwood Int’l School c/o 2024

Gabby Cope*, Lakeside HS c/o 2023

Gavrielle Diamant, The Weber School c/o 2024

Sarah Dowling*, The Lovett School c/o 2022

Sydney Fox*, Riverwood Int’l School c/o 2021

Leora Frank, Atlanta Jewish Academy c/o 2024

Ryan Frank, Riverwood Int’l School c/o 2024

Alexa Freedman*, The Galloway School c/o 2022

Ruby Frohman*, Dunwoody HS c/o 2023

Marissa Goodman*, Pace Academy c/o 2022

Jules Greenberg, The Galloway School c/o 2024

Eden Guggenheim, The Weber School c/o 2024

Tamar Guggenheim*, Riverwood Int’l School c/o 2022

Julia Harris*, Dunwoody HS c/o 2023

Amelia Heller*, The Weber School c/o 2023

Katie Hurwitz*, Johns Creek HS c/o 2021

Kayla Jacobs*, Pope HS c/o 2021

Rebecca Kann*, Pace Academy c/o 2022

Phoebe Kaplan*, Riverwood Int’l School c/o 2023

Nicole Katz, North Springs HS c/o 2023

Rachel Katz, Riverwood Int’l School c/o 2024

Leah May Kogon, The Weber School c/o 2024

Kayla Kornfeld, Riverwood Int’l School c/o 2023

Maya Laufer*, Dunwoody HS c/o 2022

Amber Lewis, The Weber School c/o 2024

Maya Lewis, The Weber School c/o 2023

Stella Mackler*, Grady HS c/o 2022

Macy Mannheimer*, Milton HS c/o 2021

Kira Mermelstein*, Atlanta Jewish Academy c/o 2021

Mollie Meyerowitz, Pace Academy c/o 2022

Leah Moradi, The Weber School c/o 2023

Hannah Much, Pace Academy c/o 2023

Emma Nowitz*, North Springs HS c/o 2022

Leah Perlman, Riverwood Int’l School c/o 2024

Lilah Presser*, The Weber School c/o 2021

Rebecca Price, Druid Hills HS c/o 2023

Ariel Raggs*, Chamblee Charter HS c/o 2021

Miriam Raggs*, The Weber School c/o 2023

Zoe Richmond, Riverwood Int’l School c/o 2024

Lulu Rosenberg*, North Springs HS c/o 2022

Skylar Rosenberg*, Lakeside HS c/o 2023

Jenna Sailor*, Dunwoody HS c/o 2023

Ava Satisky, Riverwood Int’l School c/o 2024

Ariel Scher, Saint Francis HS c/o 2023

Peyton Schwartz*, Pope HS c/o 2023

Zoe Siegel*, Riverwood Int’l School c/o 2022

Jamie Silberman, Dunwoody HS c/o 2024

Lenah Simons, Grady HS c/o 2024

Lilly Srochi, Riverwood Int’l School c/o 2024

Lili Stadler*, The Weber School c/o 2021

Lily Stoumen*, Riverwood Int’l School c/o 2021

Leah Taube, Riverwood Int’l School c/o 2024

Rene Walter*, Dunwoody HS c/o 2021

Noa Young*, North Springs HS c/o 2023

Audrey Zeff*, Grady HS c/o 2023

Alex Zelcer*, Woodward Academy c/o 2021

Bailey Zibitt, Riverwood Int’l School c/o 2024

*Denotes returning Strong Women fellow

JumpSpark, Atlanta’s hub for Jewish teen innovation and engagement, connects and invests in the community to create more meaningful and defining moments for Jewish teens in Atlanta. Serving teens, their parents, and educators that work with teens, JumpSpark offers empowering teen programs, Navigating Parenthood workshops, professional development, and grants. JumpSpark is supported as an innovation initiative of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, by the Jim Joseph Foundation, and by generous donors in the community. jumpsparkatl.org.