Thanks to the generosity of the Louis J. Kuriansky Family Foundation, the Kuriansky Teen Leadership Institute (KTLI), formerly called Kuriansky Teen Tzedakah Corps, completed another successful year in training the next generation of philanthropists.  KTLI is a premier leadership program of United Jewish Federation of Stamford, New Canaan, and Darien (UJF), designed to instill local teens with the knowledge and skills necessary to become future Jewish leaders and philanthropists.

 

KTLI participants have engaged in monthly classes and discussions to establish the goals and values of their cohort, to learn about both Jewish and secular charitable organizations, and to understand how to evaluate the effectiveness of their work.

 

As part of the culmination of the program, participants commit to helping to raise funds for a nonprofit organization(s) of their choosing – each of which will receive at least $1,000 to help their efforts. The KTLI group selected the recipients based on the values they learned about during the program:

 

·       Tzedakah/Charity: Elayne and James Schoke Jewish Family Service of Fairfield County

·       Tikun Olam/Repairing the World: buildOn

·       Gemilut Chasadim/Loving Acts of Kindness: Jewish Agency for Israel’s Fund for Victims of Terror

 

UJF Community Shlicha (Israeli Emissary) Eden Refaelovich, who ran KTLI this year, said, “It was so special getting to work with and form bonds with these amazing teens.”