Last month, Zachary Garber and Helene Kahn received the Fred Walpert Young Leadership Award from The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore for their involvement and leadership within The Associated.
We spoke with Zack, a client advisor at Alex. Brown, a division of Raymond James, and Helene, director of community growth for Thread, Inc., about the importance of young adults taking an active role in helping their community.
How did your upbringing lead to The Associated?
Zack: My family was always involved in the Jewish community. I remember my mother was chair of The Associated’s Pearlstone Center and the Women’s Campaign and my father started the Solomon Society. When I went to college I continued my Jewish learning and was actively involved in Jewish life – from participating in Hillel to traveling to Israel on Birthright.
When I returned to Baltimore [after working in New York and completing my MBA at Wharton], I became involved in Young Leadership Council (YLC) and currently co-chair Impact’s Young Professionals Committee. We plan innovative and meaningful engagement events to help connect young professionals with the Jewish community.
Helene: I was born and raised along Park Heights Avenue. My Jewish identity is deeply rooted in Baltimore and inextricably linked with my dedication to strengthening the Baltimore community for everyone. To me, it has always been clear that The Associated plays a foundational role in our vibrant Jewish community. I became involved with YLC and Impact (its young adult division) to help activate and engage more young adults in Baltimore.
What are you working on at The Associated?
Zack: We recently created “Shabbat Around Town,” inviting young adults to intimate Friday night Shabbat dinners followed by a community oneg. We held the dinners in homes across town – Fells Point, Pikesville, Canton and the Inner Harbor. More than 80 young adults attended the program.
Helene: As co-chair of YLC, we are creating spaces for young Jewish leaders to connect. It’s a great way to develop leadership skills, make meaningful connections that last beyond YLC and help the broader Jewish community.
Why should your generation be engaged?
Helene: If you are successful in life, you have an obligation to take care of those who aren’t. Whatever world we live in is only as successful as the world and communities that surround us. We have the opportunity to shape what we want our community to look like.
Zack: I believe that once you are fortunate enough to take care of yourself, nothing is more important than helping others, and the first place to start is within your community. The Associated has an incredible history and future. The reason the Jewish community is so successful is that The Associated built up the infrastructure to care for the community’s needs.
In one way or another, everyone in the Jewish community has benefited from The Associated – whether it was our ancestors who received immigration services, teens who went to Maccabi, or our grandparents who need elder care.
Best advice parents gave you?
Helene: If you are not willing to do something, don’t complain.
Zack: Care for others and surround yourself with great people who will help motivate and inspire you.
Learn more at associated.org/20s30s.
The recently renovated campus at 5700 Park Heights Avenue will now serve as headquarters of the federation and several of its constituent agencies.
At Knit & Nosh, one of several VolunTeams run by the Macks Jewish Connection Network, young adults get together to knit scarves and hats for neighbors experiencing housing insecurity.
In honor of Women's History Month, The Associated talked with Pam Platt, Stephanie Baron and Leah Schottenstein Schulman about what drives their giving and the values that guide their leadership.
February is Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance and Inclusion Month (JDAIM). Supporting individuals with disabilities is a year-round priority for The Associated network.