Kol Koleinu 2025-2026 Capstone Projects

“At my high school, I compiled a group of 12+ individuals. I distributed copies of Anne Frank’s Diary, and we read through it separately. In a book club setting, we met three times to discuss Anne Frank’s Diary. We noticed how we can unfortunately relate it to pressing issues occurring in our country at present concerning immigrants and other targeted minorities. We discussed significant themes (connection, isolation, resilience), and expressed our own frustrations in relation to upsetting topics that surfaced. Following these discussions, my goal is to write an article of the book club’s experience, offering it as a hub of information (with cited sources of course) for those who are unaware of what their neighbors are enduring. I hope my project has raised awareness of important matters at hand, and that it spurs people into action. I am now motivated to spread more kindness, and spark change where I go. I am proud to have organized a group of strangers, and created something important from our discussions. From this change-making project, I’ve learned that sparking change is not as daunting or difficult as I initially thought.”

“For my project, I expanded on my personal volunteer project where I collect and donate books to Legacy Health Clinic’s Little Readers Program, a program which gives free books to children on well child pediatrician exams. I donated 4,000 books – doubling my original goal of 2,000 books – and I made and distributed bookmarks that spread information about literacy issues in Houston and how to get in touch if you need help. I am most proud of the impact that I made in my community with this project and that I was able to succeed my goal in book donations. Throughout my project I learned how to speak with other organizations and how to market something correctly.”

“I ran book drives at my synagogue, library, and dance studio. I have about a thousand or so books. These books will go to Philly schools who often don’t have any books. There is only one librarian in the entire Philly school district. Hopefully, these books will make kids want to read more, and give them more access to do so. I’m proud that I got so many books.”

“My project went well! It was stressful but successful.”

“A lot of people had different answers! Most kids had less faith in religion than older people, and tied their feminism to their social identity. I am most proud of having friends that were willing to answer my questions and learn from my project. I learned that it’s hard to get people to sit down for interviews, and how to manage my time.”

“We created a children’s book. In our book, we go through a story of a tiger named Jacob and his experience sitting shiva following the death of his grandma. We have submitted it to PJ Library and are waiting to hear back. I also plan to create a hard copy and bring it to the library I work at. I stepped out of my comfort zone to draw all of this but I had a blast! I learned the importance of collaboration with someone to create a beautiful final product.”

“My audience was mostly Jewish families in my community in need of some recipes. By reaching out to people in my synagogue, I was able to gather recipes that held a backstory as well. Each recipe is unique and has a different origin, and sharing them to others helps to further unite the Jewish people. In addition to the online cookbook, I also printed out individual recipe cards to handout at my local food bank. This expanded my outreach by not only supplying recipes to Jewish families, but also those in need. I’m most proud of being able to work on a project that needed hours of my time and energy.”

“I compiled a bencher with zmirot from Jewish cultures across the world. Although Jews share one common religion, the goal was to present new traditions and unfamiliar cultures. I included songs from diaspora communities, as well as Mizrahi songs that originated in Israel. There are also songs from across time that can teach us about the feelings among the Jewish community at the time. I am most proud of my knowledge in Jewish music, which allowed me to pick some of my favorite zmirot as well as incorporate ones I am unfamiliar with. I learned about new cultures and how they used song as a way to express what the Jews were facing. For example, I analyzed a Sephardic song that dates back to the Inquisition and has themes of separation, reflecting how Jewish families were torn from each other and forced to flee.”

“Our project was to inform others about abortion, why it’s performed, and the Jewish perspective on reproductive rights. My partner and I made a pamphlet through Canva, including information about the science behind abortions and pregnancy. Later, we dove into the Jewish perspective, including Jewish texts and principles supporting the woman’s right to an abortion. We decided on this topic since both of us feel deeply about women’s reproductive rights and wanted to inform other Jewish-identifying people about how Jewish principles view abortion I am most proud of being able to inform others about the importance of reproductive rights and why its important for access to them. I learned how Judaism views reproductive rights. To learn that the Jewish perspective on abortion can actually be supportive of it was eye-opening to me.”

“I planned a discussion-based lesson on media literacy. Specifically, it focuses on objectivity in articles and how to identify biased language. It also connects these ideas back to identity and how articles can often omit opposing or minority perspectives. I learned how to be a better teacher and how to make knowledge that I already have understandable for an audience.”

“My passion project had to shift quite a bit this year. I originally wanted to start a peer mentoring program at my synagogue between pre-bnei mitzvah middle schoolers and high schoolers in our high school program, but I ended up not being able to do so due to timing constraints and health difficulties. This is less about my project and more about me, but I am proud of myself for actually stepping back when it was too much and not pushing myself too much past my limits. While I am so sad I wasn’t able to conduct my original project idea, I am really glad that I listened to myself when it was too much. Similar to above, I definitely learned a ton of other stuff but the biggest thing was how to step down when it was too much, which is something I have always struggled with. If that is the only thing Kol Koleinu teaches me it will have been so worth it, though I have learned a ton of other things too!!!”

“I developed a 3-part podcast series on the neuroscience of anxiety with practical coping strategies. The series is complete and I am continuing to reach out to Jewish organizations to share it more widely. The project translates neuroscience into relatable, actionable insights, grounding key ideas with Jewish values, and includes a built-in call to action inviting participants to reflect on how the content affects their coping, sense of calm, and understanding of their anxiety. I’m most proud of the possibility of really making a difference in a teen’s life. I think the insights of neuroscience are powerful and not necessarily obvious or intuitive. I learned that it takes a lot of time to make something that’s quality, but it’s so worth it. My hope is these podcasts will continue to help people for years to come, so it was worth the time I spent!”

“A small group of people came over to watch a women’s March Madness game. During halftime, we analyzed the advertisements and the way the players were perceived or advertised before and during the game. We discussed these things in a group. I am happy that people came and were open to meaningful discussion.”

“For my project my partner and I created a program about Mental Health and Stereotypes for Girls. We called it M’aam Levet, which means “From mother to daughter” to show how not only stereotypes go from generation to generation, but also to tie in the mothers into the program. We helped to create a safe space for mothers and daughters to talk to each other. I am most proud of being able to use my own experiences with mental health and stereotypes to help teach other girls. If I share my experience, it helps other girls realize that they aren’t alone either. I learned how much women are truly undervalued in society, and how outdated stereotypes still hurt us today. It went very well and the participants said that they were leaving with more confidence and ability to speak up for themselves. I am most proud of the effect and understanding that I was able to grand the girls that I was working with. Their parents seemed to be thrilled with the content and motivated to discuss it more with them. I learned so much about the affects of stereotypes on younger children.”

“We painted vulnerable experiences and feelings we have or had, on the beach. It was me and six other girls who showed up. It went well and everyone who participated described it as a wonderful experience that they would do again. It led people to become connected to one another, and it led to a decrease in judgement, and an increase in empathy. I am most proud of how people expressed their vulnerabilities on canvas and with each other. I learned how people go through so much more on the inside than what you can possibly tell. If I were to do it again I would love if more people could participate. ”

“I organized an activity for my temple youth group where we wrote postcards to Robert F Kennedy Jr and the Department of Health and Human Services reminding him of the importance of Mifepristone. I think it went very well and inspired members of my community to stand up for reproductive rights. I will also send the postcards so they will hopefully impact RFK Jr’s pushback on mifepristone and keep this necessary mediation available for women around the country. I am proud that I was able to find an advocacy activity relating to reproductive rights. I knew I wanted to do a postcard party but it took a lot of searching to find one that was aligned with my priorities but in the end I found something that I was incredibly passionate about and happy with. I learned how important it is to use your connections and that it is okay to rely on others.”

“In my project, I put up posters around school and handed out cards containing information about what roofies are, what the signs of them are, and how to keep yourself safe if you ever find that you’ve been roofied. I also partnered with a club and student services on campus, so they helped me broaden my audience and impact. It went pretty well, and I hopefully raised awareness and made people acknowledge the dangers of roofies and what they can do to prevent harm being done to them through roofies. I am most proud that I was able to reach out to clubs on my campus and collaborate with them to further increase my impact. One club I collaborated with was Sisterhood Society, whom I felt that it was important to work with because it is their mission to create a safe space for women, and women are the main targets for roofieing. I learned the signs of roofies and how I can keep myself safe if I ever find myself in that position (hopefully not).”

“My project went well, I helped a lot of people and I’m super proud of it. I am proud that I was able to help the people that came.”

“My project was a short workshop for teens to discuss the effects of growing up during this period of violence in schools. The audience ended up being small, however I think it helped the people who were there talk about how they’re feeling in the world right now. I’m most proud of being able to connect with other teenagers. I learned a lot about how other kids feel about the world right now.”

“ Did a drive to collect menstrual products. Made kits from materials from drive while doing a presentation on uterine health awareness. Also made a poster to put up in bathrooms of warning signs of uterine health issues like PCOS and endometriosis I am really proud of how much I enhanced my knowledge of the subjects. I’m also proud of educating others because people really know nothing about it. I would have given myself way more time. I didn’t plan ahead enough and my life got crazy and I was over committed so the project fell behind and I had to make stressful changes last minute. ”

“I created an informational brochure about Ohio’s upcoming special election to replace former senator JD Vance. I focused the information on reproductive rights and what the candidates will do for reproductive freedom if elected. I handed the brochures out in my community (to peers, at my temple. etc.). People who received the brochure were happy to review the election dates and understand the candidates’ views. I think the overall impact was positive, as many were happy to receive the brochure with a positive lens rather than panic over the future. I’m proud of the sheer amount of voting knowledge I was able to apply to my project myself. My project originally started as just a voter info project, and when I was working on the project, I was very pleasantly surprised to realize that much of the detail I included in the project came from my thorough background knowledge, rather than solely on research. From my project, I learned that not many people are fully comfortable to discuss either voting rights, reproductive rights, or both. Some people believed I was soliciting initially, or just expressed a lack of interest in “dealing with” my brochure. While it was slightly frustrating at first, it helped me learn that doing projects like this can help combat this lack of interest around voting and politics.”