Over the last 12 months, more than 100 New York City teens, ages 14 – 18, raised over $216,000 to help people in need. Working with UJA-Federation of New York professionals, they collectively decided where the money should go and in sum will award 25 grants to selected not-for-profit agencies including Save A Child’s Heart, Jewish Child Care Association, Selfhelp Community Services for Holocaust Survivors and Bet Elazraki Children’s Home.

This is the fourth year for UJA-Federation of New York’s Center for Youth Philanthropy and Leadership (CYPL), which was established to give teens age-appropriate opportunities to get involved in philanthropy, volunteerism, and the grant making process. This year, the teens raised nearly $70,000 more in funds than last year, which enabled them to double the number of grants allocated over last year.