Goals
- To educate students in philanthropy and to teach about the power of educated charitable giving.
- To emphasize the value of Tzedakah as an integral part of adult Jewish life.
- To provide a meaningful alternative to the materialism that is often a large part of the B’nai Mitzvah experience in contemporary America.
- To relieve some pressure on families by agreeing voluntarily and collectively that donations to the Seventh Grade Fund will replace customary gifts to B’nai Mitzvah.
- To provide targeted financial gifts to advance the cause of one or more charitable service organizations.
- To foster a sense of responsibility and effectiveness within the Seventh Grade Community by giving them the power to make positive change in the world.
Objectives
We will invite a staff person from a local foundation to make a presentation on the principles of targeted philanthropic giving. In addition, we will invite local charitable service organizations to make presentations to the Board on two Sundays during the year. The presentations and discussions that follow will provide valuable education on the practice of philanthropy.
We will educate the members of the Board on the imperative of Tzedakah as a Jewish obligation
The fund will act as a vehicle for channeling financial resources away from consumer spending and toward social action causes. It does not represent an additional expense, but instead a redirection of family resources that might otherwise go toward the purchase of gifts.
A $234 suggested contribution from each family will be used to form the Seventh Grade Fund, whose mission will be to provide financial support for one or more local community service organizations at the discretion of the SGF’s Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors will be comprised of the entire seventh grade class (whether or not they make a contribution to the SGF).
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