A Report from the Diller Israel Summer Seminar
By Nicole Miller, Executive Director of the International Diller Teen Initiatives
Nicole Miller (top row, center) with Diller Teens and their campers at Ramat Eliyahu, a community center in Rishon L’Tzion
As of this evening, all of this year’s Summer Track Diller Teen Fellows (nearly 300) are on their way home after an incredibly meaningful Israel Summer Seminar. I’m thrilled to say that I think this was possibly our best year yet. Every year we continue to learn from our prior experience and tweak the educational structure and content to constantly improve. Since the Congress when all the teens were together, they spent this past week living in home hospitality with their Israeli peers from their partner region and doing community service. I’ve had the privilege of going around to visit most of the groups this past week in their local communities and I have no doubt that you would be very proud!
Included in this blog post are a few pictures from the Rishon L’Tzion / MetroWest New Jersey summer camp that the Diller Teens planned, prepared, and ran for 140 children (many of whom are from families of Ethiopian immigrants, and most of whom are on welfare and would not otherwise be able to afford such a luxury as summer camp).
I also had the pleasure of attending the opening ceremony in the Upper Galilee / San Francisco group last Sunday, and the Closing Ceremony for the Montreal / Beer Sheva / Bnei Shimon group last night. In both cases, the teens planned the entire program and all of the parents, extended families, and community members were dumbstruck by how creative, professional, and poignant their presentations were. Also notable is that the Diller Family received a standing ovation as the teens, their parents, and the community members all wished to express their immense gratitude to the Diller family for providing them with this opportunity. I encourage you to take a look at what the teens posted in their own words and pictures about their experiences by reading blog posts from each community.
Finally, I would like to share a recent article in the Jerusalem Post about the Diller Teen Fellows, and be sure to check out lots of photos from the journey in our online gallery.
Diller Teen Fellows Gather at the International Congress
The Diller Teen Initiatives are funded by the Helen Diller Family Foundation, a supporting foundation of the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund.
