Last August, Julie Averbach from Short Hills, NJ was awarded $36,000 by the Helen Diller Family Foundation in recognition of her commitment to tikkun olam (repair the world). At a luncheon at San Francisco’s Four Seasons Hotel Julie, along with 14 other young leaders from across the nation, received the national 2017 Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Award (www.dillerteenawards.org), a prestigious honor given to youth leaders who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, community service and action.
Julie was selected for this award among hundreds of teens because of her work on Adventures from My World (www.adventuresfrommyworld.com), a comic book series that spotlights the unique challenges and joys that siblings of special needs individuals encounter daily. Her project has globally expanded to help families across the world understand their family member’s disability in a fun and creative way, and she plans on utilizing the $36,000 and the connections she made with the other teens and previous award winners at the luncheon to continue growing her project.
The luncheon celebration was the culmination of a weekend-long series of business strategy workshops, networking and mentoring initiatives, during which award winners exchanged ideas with other socially conscious peers and interacted with Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Award alumni from years past who are continuing their social justice work.
A highlight of the luncheon was the debut of a special documentary-style video that featured the accomplishments of all 15 teens in a behind-the scenes chronicle of their leadership achievements. The video showcases each teen’s projects and illustrates an individual’s ability to affect global change through leadership and community and service, and inspires hope for viable solutions to even the world’s toughest problems. View the video at:
http://www.dropbox.com/s/17blrd5f5eoxf1j/Diller2017 Final.mp4?dl=0
