Over the course of this season, I’ve spent a lot of time talking about the amazing adults, organizations and institutions that work hard every day to uplift Philly students. But I want to be clear that any single person, of any age, can make a difference in the lives of our youth.
Prefer audio? Listen to this story in CitizenCast below:
Take Rebecca Benjamin, for example. The South Jersey high school junior, 16, has always loved to read. And when she thought about communities in the Philly area that didn’t have easy access to books, she felt bereft, and compelled to do something about it.
Her parents had always modeled service—her mom, Melissa, as a former teacher in Queens, New York, and her dad, restaurateur Jeff, as co-founder, with Marc Vetri, of Vetri Community Partnership.
“I’ve always been around philanthropy, and every year for Chanukah my family does a night of giving, so I decided to take that further. I didn’t want to stop. That’s how my nonprofit, Rebecca’s Mission, was born,” she explains. “Studies have shown that kids are more apt to read when there’s a greater variety of books to choose from,” she adds.
Rebecca’s Mission, with the support of Benjamin’s parents and younger sister, Ali, started small and grew big: First, Benjamin organized informal book drives, then bigger ones in partnership with organizations like ESF Camps and Barnes & Noble.
She grew to be able to stock programs in-need, including two full school libraries: C.B. Community Schools, which works with students age 16 to 21 who’ve spent time in the foster and juvenile detention systems, and Wissahickon Charter School’s Awbury campus.
“A lot of kids don’t have transportation to libraries, so getting there just isn’t feasible to them,” she says, noting that she’s particularly focused on amassing a collection of books with diverse topics, authors and characters. “The kids in the demographic we’re trying to reach don’t see themselves in [many] books, and having that identity is something important that we’d like to give to them.”
Benjamin’s efforts are so inspiring to me—and she’s not alone in improving her community. Now more than ever, teens worldwide are standing up for what they believe in, and making a difference. From students speaking up for gun control, environmental protection, racial healing and more, our youth have important things to say, and we should listen.
In fact, The Citizen, is hosting its first-ever Citizen Teen event this spring, a summit where they’ll bring together teen leaders from around the country to share their wisdom and insight. If you know a teen who’d want to hear from inspiring young people, tell them to follow The Citizen on Instagram for info as the details of the event unfold. And The Citizen wants to hear about more inspiring youth in our community, like Rebecca Benjamin, so please get in touch with info about the inspiring teens on your radar.
For now, you can support Rebecca by donating books or money at her site or on her social media. And you can support more youth by volunteering in your community, and simply having open ears, hearts, and minds.
Next week, we play Dallas again, and I’ll tell you about a new college-readiness and mentorship program.