

2024-2025 Campaign
Fundraisers
Contra Costa Midrasha's Hamsa Fund is the East Bay's Jewish Teen Philanthropy Board. It provides teen members with the opportunity to learn how to run their own philanthropic foundation and get hands-on experience addressing problems they see in their community. Teens meet monthly to learn about fundraising, choose a mission statement, research non-profits, fundraise, and distribute funds. Each school year the Hamsa Fund raises thousands of dollars, making a difference both globally and locally.
This year, the Hamsa Fund is committed to supporting conflict resolution between Jewish and Muslim youth in the Middle East and the US through the funding of non-profit organizations that work towards familiarizing the youth with each other's lived experiences and deescalating tensions in future generations.
The Hamsa Fund will invite relevant non-profits to apply for grants who address these needs. In April 2025 the Hamsa Fund's members will decide which organizations to fund. 100% of donations go to the teen's choice of non-profit organizations. Potentially funded non-profits will be revealed here shortly.
By donating, you're making a difference in the world and helping our teens learn deeply about the philanthropic process. Thank you!
Additional Notes:
Last year, the Hamsa Fund teens raised $4000 towards supporting at-risk youth in securing housing & job opportunities, and towards providing access to education & mental health resources. The teens decided to also donate a portion of the money towards combating anti-semitism.
We donated these funds to CASA Contra Costa, Youth Homes, and the JCRC Bay Area, as chosen by our teens.
In Judaism, the number 18 is significant because the Hebrew word Chai, which means "life", is made up of the letters chet, which is worth 8, and yud, which is worth 10. Using the number 18 in gift-giving and donations is considered lucky and ties our mission to Judaism. Our donation amounts are chosen to be in multiples of 18, reflecting this belief.
