In late March, 11 teen students traveled to Washington, DC to participate in Panim el Panim (PeP), "Face to Face." Together, they joined 200 other students from more than 15 communities to participate in a four-day seminar, exploring public policy and social activism through a Jewish lens. The seminar is conducted by Panim, The Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values. The trip was coordinated locally by JATCO, Jewish Atlanta Teen Community Outreach. The Atlanta contingency was non-denominational and had 10th - 12th graders from a wide array of synagogues, schools and youth groups. Lee Shaffer, BBYO's Assistant Director, and Danny Berke, Temple Kol Emeth's Director of Youth and Family Services, were selected by JATCO to staff the trip.

While in Washington, the students heard well-renowned speakers and attended seminars on a variety of topics including Civil Liberties, US/Israel Relations, and Jews and the Political Process. A cornerstone program was the "Encounter for the Homeless" where recent homeless individuals told their personal stories. The students also performed "Street Torah" — going to Washington's parks to distribute items of need directly to homeless individuals. According to Shoshana Hochdorf, a 10th grade participant, "Getting to talk directly to a person who is homeless really helps put a face and a story to this cause. We found that these people are often hard-working individuals who may have suddenly come under misfortune. It was amazing to get to meet them and to feel like we could make their day a little brighter."

The Panim experience culminated with a face-to-face meeting with members of Congress. The Atlanta group met with Rep. Johnny Isakson and Sen. Denise Majette. Prior to their meetings, a community caucus was held to prepare and decide on the various topics to discuss with legislators. "Our students recognized the wonderful opportunity they were given to meet with members of Congress," said Lee Shaffer, "and they took full advantage of those meetings."

During a reunion planned for late April, the group will discuss ways to transfer many of the lessons learned in Washington and apply them here in Atlanta.  JATCO is already discussing future Panim experiences for Atlanta teens. For more information or to get involved in a Panim advisory capacity, please contact Mindy Ellin, JATCO Coordinator at (404) 236-0930 or jatco@mindspring.com.

JATCO is a program of Tichon Atlanta, which is one of Federation's local beneficiary agencies. Tichon Atlanta received an allocation of $158,708 in FY03.