In May, Ponte Vedra High School’s 2019 valedictorian, Grace Freedman, gave a speech about the power of youth, a subject close to her heart.
“America’s youth has proven time and time again that it has the power to wield an enormous impact via our collective voice and remarkable actions,” she said. “Whichever issue you deem important, it’s incumbent upon all of us to leave the world in a better shape… For if we do so, we will be remembered as a class, and by extension, a generation of action and hope.”
Freedman personally experienced the extent to which teens can make a difference. And in August, she learned that she had received the Helen Diller Family Foundation Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Award. Granted in recognition of her outstanding work in leadership and service to her community, it also included $36,000 toward her tuition at Yale University.
“Their foundation believes in supporting Jewish teen leadership because they know that by supporting us today, that mobilizes us to become better activists and leaders for the future,” Freedman said, explaining that the award is inspired from the Jewish precept, “Tikkun Olam,” or “repairing the world.”
Freedman cofounded JaxTHRIVE, a nonprofit organization based in Jacksonville, that provides mentoring and educational assistance to refugee children in the area.
“Every Saturday, we mentor refugee youth in math, reading and English and after, we have lunch with them and do STEM projects or go outside,” Freedman said. “The main focus is helping refugees acclimate to the education system in the U.S. and giving them support through the volunteers and each other with the friendships made.”
She said she was inspired to create JaxTHRIVE after she volunteered for an international resettlement organization called World Relief, which received federal budget cuts after the 2016 election, forcing it to shut down some of its programs.
“I felt that I couldn’t just abandon the kids that I formed such close bonds with,” Freedman said. “So, I decided to take initiative and cofound JaxTHRIVE with Chase Magnano, who’s currently a senior at Ponte Vedra High School.”
Initially, the cofounders struggled with the organization, both financially and with finding dedicated volunteers. But the Ponte Vedra Beach and Jacksonville communities rallied to help. Support for the endeavor led to more than 100 volunteers tutoring on a rotating basis.
The Bolles School recently formed a JaxTHRIVE chapter, and Freedman is planning to create another chapter in New Haven, Connecticut, while studying at Yale.
She also wants to change the name of the organization from “JaxTHRIVE” to “THRIVE” and expand it on a national level. In order to do that she is seeking more volunteers and financial donations. “Because we live in a very privileged area, we often don’t think that certain issues would be present in our area,” she said. “But really, there’s a large population of refugees in the Jacksonville community and there is a need to help.
For more information, visit www.JaxTHRIVE.net
