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May 23, 2003/Iyar 21 5763, Vol. 55, No. 39
Making a difference
BETH OLSON
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 Liora Sitelman and Donnie Benjamin are the recipients of the 2003 Anne Frank "Teens Make a Difference" Award. Photo courtesy of Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix |
The six finalists - Benjamin, Sitelman, Adam Dulberg, Miriam Gurevich, Adina Hirsch and Ruth Storch - and their families were invited to an award ceremony, held at the home of the award committee chairwoman, Francine Coles, on March 4.
Benjamin, the son of Corinne and Eric Benjamin of Phoenix, is a 17-year-old junior at Arcadia High School. He volunteers weekly at Phoenix Children's Hospital and was formerly a member of Planned Parenthood's Positive Force Players.
Coles says that while Benjamin had more than 500 hours of community service in the last several years, the project that stood out most to the committee was called "Dreaming About Disneyland." The program paired 20 Arcadia High School students with 20 underprivileged elementary school students, who then went on a turnaround trip to Disneyland.
"I got to thinking about how much fun I had at Disneyland as a kid," says Benjamin, who realized that the younger children would never have the opportunity to visit Disneyland without his program.
"He organized the entire thing, raised the funds, did all the coordination of the trip," explains Coles. "In doing so, he affected not only the lives of these 20 kids and their families, but also of the 20 Arcadia (students)."
Sitelman, the daughter of Edna and Art Sitelman of Phoenix, is a 17-year-old junior at North High School. Her projects include involvement with Jewish Family and Children's Service, St. Vincent de Paul and Thomas J. Pappas School for homeless children. The project that grabbed the committee's attention, according to Coles, was the Baby Oh Baby program that assists teen mothers and their babies with childcare items, support and education.
Benjamin and Sitelman each received a $613 cash prize, representing the 613 mitzvot, an award certificate, a letter of recognition and acknowledgement from the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix.
Last year, Wylie Silverstein, as president of the Women's Department of federation, created the Anne Frank Award to honor local teens who make a difference in the community.