JUMP - by Rabbi Zians

The NCSY Jewish Unity Mentoring Program (JUMP) is the premiere leadership program for Jewish & Community day school students across North America with over 25 schools participating. Each team of eight 10th and 11th grade students are empowered to become the next generation of Jewish leaders committed to serving their community through the execution of a diverse array of challenges over the course of four months.  A two day conference in NY served as the launch of the JUMP Competition.  Participants had the opportunity to hear from prominent and influential communal leaders, and experienced hands on leadership training and skill building development, while networking with leadership-motivated peers from other communities.

Each JUMP team was challenged to create, plan, and execute a series of three projects in different thematic areas, as well as one fundraising project in their schools and communities over the course of several months. Upon their completion, JUMP teams will submit executive summaries of their events to New York and four JUMP teams will be chosen  to return to New York in March for the JUMP Boardroom where they will present their accomplishments to a panel of distinguished judges, and a JUMP Champion will be crowned.

For the Israel Advocacy project, the NCSY DKJA JUMP Team held the schools first annual IDF appreciation day. The JUMP team began by bringing in a high ranking officer from the IDF to address the entire Donna Klein High School and then later to speak to the entire DKJA student body.  Students, grades 3-12, participated in writing letters to the IDF soldiers thanking them for their constant courage, support, and protection.  Students were able to learn about the IDF and hear first hand accounts of what was happening in our Home Land.

For the Poverty project, the NCSY DKJA JUMP Team held a condiment drive. We collected condiments as this is a luxury to many who are living in poverty. We collected over 100 condiment bottles at the Claire and Emanuel G. Rosenblatt High School. We also made and delivered custom Hanukah baskets with basic necessities such as towels, soap, and sheets for some of the Jewish elderly living in our Boca Raton community.  

For our Texting & Driving project, we are holding courses during high school mentor groups about the dangers of texting and driving.  Everyone will know that they are empowered to make a difference and stop the unnecessary dangers of texting and driving that so many are guilty of.  Students came to realize that a few seconds of texting is definitely not worth the potential disaster that can follow as a result.

For our fundraiser, we held a screening of the new family comedy, Paddington, to benefit Florence Fuller Child Development Centers; an organization that provides high-quality early education programs thats fills a niche for economically struggling parents who have limited options for making the most of their children’s immense learning potential while giving them a foundation for success in school and in life. We actually sold out three times! We had a 95 seat theatre, we sold out, then we moved to a 125 seat theatre, we sold out, and then we moved to a 146 seat theatre with people sitting in the front row! We raised over $2,500 for Florence Fuller. We would like to extend a special thank you to our sponsors; Marshall Fleischman, Anita Rudo, Fortuna & Rafael Menda, Leslie Fleischman, the Moed Family, Stuart & Doris Zeuner, the Reise Family, the Maizes Family, and the Zeuner Family.  The NCSY DKJA JUMP Team is proud and honored to have been able to help support such an integral organization within our community!