Jewish Federation & Foundation awards scholarships to four teens

The Jewish Federation & Foundation of Northeast Florida is bestowing the 2021 Len & Judy Elikan Young Leader Camp Scholarship Award to four teens in the Northeast Florida Jewish community this summer.

In his youth, Len Elikan’s Jewish faith and identity strengthened when he was given the opportunity to attend a sleep-away Jewish camp by his rabbi. When Len and his wife Judy settled in Ponte Vedra from Cincinnati more than 25 years ago, they became pivotal members of the Northeast Florida Jewish community. Judy Elikan was a founding member and president of Hadassah’s Yamit Chapter of Beth El the Beaches Synagogue.

In 2011, in further service to the Jewish community, the couple decided to contribute the funding of a scholarship to the Jewish Foundation (formerly the Northeast Florida Jewish Community Foundation).

“When Len and I decided to create our Jewish legacy, we felt this was the way for our dream of helping young people experience Jewish summer camps to become a reality,” said Judy Elikan.

Since its creation, the scholarship fund has awarded more than 50 scholarships to outstanding and motivated youth.

This year, the amount of the four awards totals $10,000. Additionally, three awards will be given based on COVID-related financial hardships.

• Abigail Fixel, a graduate of the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School, attends Mandarin High School and is the founder of the school’s Jewish Student Union, B'nai B’rith Youth Organization Jacksonville Chapter and Camp Fixel in 2017.
• Macy Pargman attends The Bolles High School, has participated in Hebrew school for more than 10 years and attended religious camps.
• Aiden Smolensky, a graduate of the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School, attends Samuel W. Wolfson High School. She has been involved with StandWithUs, last year’s Jewish Federation’s Israel Advocacy Program, and was the youth group Shabbat leader at Etz Chaim Synagogue from 2019 to 2020.
• Evan Wolpoff, a graduate of the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School, attends The Bolles High School and has been active in the Jewish community since 2016. Evan has been vice president of the Jacksonville Jewish Center Chalutzim and Kadima groups, and is a member of the Jewish Student Union at The Bolles School.