Each year the Jewish Community Foundation San Diego (JCF) facilitates the Peter Chortek Leadership Award (PCLA), an award created by the Chortek family to foster Jewish communal involvement by rewarding Jewish teens who are practicing Tikkun Olam, repairing the world.
This year the awards committee, comprised of two generations of the Chortek family and other community leaders, selected Hayden Crocker as the 2024 PCLA recipient, according to a news release.
Hayden, a junior at Canyon Crest Academy and Solana Beach resident, is the founder of Go Greenish, a youth-led environmental organization and national activism movement working to bridge student empowerment and sustainability through policy, advocacy, and research. He is responsible for drafting the mission statement, recruiting the executive team and board of directors, creating bylaws, incorporating, filing for 501(c)(3) status, and is the face behind the initiatives and impact of Go Greenish. Hayden joined the Solana Beach Climate Action Commission as a junior commissioner in his freshman year of high school which served as the catalyst for creating Go Greenish. For a video of Hayden talking about Go Greenish go to: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf5cZTUU704
The Peter Chortek Leadership Award was established in 2011 by the Chortek family to honor the late Peter Chortek (z”l). Peter was not religious but was fiercely proud of being Jewish and committed to making a difference. His passion and focus was Jewish education, believing quality Jewish education would help ensure a vibrant Jewish future. For Peter, this meant being supportive of venues that would aid Jewish continuity, such as day schools, Jewish camps, Hillel, Birthright, March of the Living, Jewish Community Centers, and synagogues. A total of 31 awards have been presented to date.
This award recognizes Jewish high school students in San Diego who are making a difference in the community through their innovative leadership. Applicants must 1) Currently be in high school and have organized and led an extraordinary Tikkun Olam project that has benefited their neighborhood, community, environment, or world; 2) Demonstrate initiative, passion, and positive spirit, inspiring others to make a difference and creating awareness about their issue, cause, or project; and 3) Have a long-term vision for growth and sustainability for their work and have been involved with their project for at least one year before submitting an application.
Peter Chortek Leadership Award recipients receive a $9,000 stipend, $540 to establish a Donor Advised Fund at the Jewish Community Foundation, and a professional video made about their project.
Applications for the 2025 Peter Chortek Leadership Award will be available as early as September 2024 and will be due January 2025. Students are encouraged to start thinking about service projects that qualify, and those who meet the application criteria are invited to participate in this remarkable opportunity. Competitive applicants for this award will have dedicated significant time and commitment to creating a new project or program to improve their communities, enhancing an existing project, or inspiring many of their peers to get involved in service projects or social justice programs.
Videos of all Peter Chortek Leadership Award winners can be viewed at shorturl.at/TW025
For additional information on the Peter Chortek Leadership Award, visit the Jewish Community Foundation San Diego’s website at www.jcfsandiego.org/pcla. --Jewish Community Foundation news release
