Teens take on ‘TASC’ of hands-on giving

THROUGH A NEW program of the JCC of Central New Jersey’s Teen Action Service Corps (TASC), participating high school students have provided support for innovative programming at the JCC in Scotch Plains.

TASC is an experiential program that features leadership symposiums, group volunteer experiences, and social programming. The current cohort of 59 TASC teens comes from six different towns.

A new component of the program this year, TASC INSPIRE, aims to guide teens in making a philanthropic impact on their community. Over the course of several weeks, the teens raised funds, which were matched with a donation from long-time JCC members Stacie and Barry Friedman; Stacie is on the JCC board of directors.

After hearing proposals from the JCC departments, the teens divided the funds among four programs they felt best captured the program’s core values of community, passion, acceptance, risk, and responsibility:

• Clips for Flicks, a film program for senior adults designed to encourage discussion and, through the screening of old movies, provide “reminiscence therapy,” which has been shown to stimulate memory.

• The outdoor classroom of the JCC’s Brody Family Early Learning Center, an open-air learning and discovery space for children.

• Sustaining year-round programming for teens with special needs, part of the JCC’s role as an inclusive community center.

• The JCC’s celebration of the 70th anniversary of Israel’s establishment next May.

For more information, contact Jordyn Barry, teen outreach and engagement director, at jbarry@jccnj.org or 908-889-8800, ext. 203, or visit jccnj.org.