Service
Entrepreneurship
Program
שירות ויזמות בקהילה
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
– Winston Churchill
Change the World
The goal of JLA’s Service Entrepreneurship Program is to bring the Jewish values of Chesed and Tikkun Olam to life by cultivating compassionate and confident leaders who are inspired to change the world.
We achieve this by dedicating two periods each Friday to a unique seven year curriculum that combines meaningful community service and exposure to exemplary non-profit professionals with instruction in the basics of Design Thinking and nonprofit management. Each of the three elements play a critical role in preparing students for a lifetime of service to others:
- Community Service = Students gain exposure to what other people are doing to make our world a better place.
- Design Thinking = Students are trained to identify needs that haven’t yet been met and design their own solutions to meet them.
- Nonprofit Management = Students who hit upon a promising solution to a problem they have identified learn how to implement it effectively and sustainably.
JLA students dedicate over 60 hours of school time each year to improving our world. As a result, service to others isn’t seen as peripheral to our student experience, but a core element of what it means to be at JLA.
“When dreaming about JLA, Daniel and I were always aligned in what we wanted — to create a school that would ignite a spark within each of you to become kind, compassionate leaders, who will give back to their communities. Students who will shape the future while being proud of their past. JLA has a goal of teaching you kindness, empathy, and what it means to do service for others. Our Service Entrepreneurship Program aims to expose you to diverse volunteering opportunities, serving children, the elderly, animals, and the environment. The idea is for you to find out what you are passionate about, and hopefully transform yourselves in the process. Our hope is that upon graduating from JLA, ALL of you will use your talents and skills not only to get far professionally, but also to help others and be part of something greater than yourselves.”
– Gisela Ades, co-founder of the Jewish Leadership Academy, addressing our student body during the first school-wide assembly in JLA’s history on December 3rd, 2023.
Timeline & Scope
Our students begin their journey in SEP by experiencing an array of themes within the world of community service. This includes over sixty hours of volunteering with partner organizations that focus on shaping fields such as elder care, disability inclusion, the environment, and food accessibility.
Eighth graders continue their SEP experience by developing their self-perception as problem solvers and innovators. Through extensive design challenges and learning the principles of Design Thinking, students understand what it means to be entrepreneurial, customer-centered, and driven by innovation. JLA partners with DTech Academy based in Silicon Valley to guide our students through the Design Thinking process.
As students enter Upper School, they learn to bring their ideas to life through two project challenges based on the Lead4Change Student Leadership curriculum. Students are introduced to defining an organization’s mission, understanding success, and implementing ideas from concept to reality.
Once our students reach these critical years they are existing between two tracks in SEP. One track focuses on intensive volunteering, with students committing to supporting the mission of an organization and working towards its goals week in and week out. The second track focuses on enabling students to implement their own solutions to problems they have identified, in a matter that is sustainable over the long term. This track builds upon their training in project management by offering students training in areas such as, non-profit budgeting, strategic planning, and success measuring. Eleventh grade concludes with a “shark-tank” style competition in which students will pitch their best ideas and possibly receive initial funding to launch a new nonprofit organization.
Our seniors will either intern at a non-profit organization, mastering their contributions and preparing themselves for a life-long commitment to social service or be given the space and support to build and grow their non-profit organization into a full fledged 501c3 that they can take with them long after they graduate JLA.
Community Impact
We are lucky to have partnered with such worthwhile organizations.
Learn more about each one.
