Graduation event pays tribute to up-and-coming leaders
THIS YEAR, Maccabi GB’s Leadership by Streetwise programme, run in partnership with CST, had 100 young people taking part in its accredited Sports Leaders UK courses and Jewish programming. The second residential weekend in March was cancelled due to lockdown, but life for Leadership moved online.
Young leaders took part in more than 50 hours of career development and networking sessions with industry professionals in property, politics, finance, journalism and more. Throughout lockdown, social events on Zoom engaged the 14-to-18-year-olds in a fun and informal environment. Thirty leaders completed work experience with Maccabi GB as part of Leadership’s Summer Activate Programme, where they delivered an online event to the global Maccabi network, following in-depth training and a Dragons’ Den inspired competition.
On December 14, 100 young leaders and their families attended a Zoom graduation evening. Their achievements, passions and hard work were celebrated, alongside the completion of the Sports Leaders UK qualifications, at the three levels of the course, the highest providing graduates with 16 Ucas points for university application.
This year, the Leadership programme made awards to four special and stand-out leaders. Noah Bezalel was awarded Sports Leader of the Year; he is a fantastic example of what we aspire for our young leaders to be — kind, caring and giving 100 per cent. We have no doubt he will make a positive role model to his peers and continue to develop his role within the Jewish community and beyond.
Evie Laifer and Ethan Myers were awarded Maccabi Woman and Maccabi Man; Evie and Ethan represent our values as an organisation and show passion and commitment in everything they do. Both Evie and Ethan throw themselves into new opportunities and experiences and deliver the most impressive outcomes. They show strong independence and have been positive influences and members of all teams and trips they have been part of.
Our last award went to Louis Deacon for Lockdown Leader. Louis participated in activities with Leadership every single day, prompting his peers to get involved too.
He also raised money for Maccabi GB on multiple occasions, including by running the 10K in the Maccabi GB Community Fun Run @ Home Online, which took place in July in place of the largest yearly event in the community, where Louis usually volunteers. Overall, Louis showed up during lockdown and stepped up as a leader for our organisation.
We are excited to continue developing our leaders and welcoming new teens to join Leadership by Streetwise 2021. Applications are open; to register go to www.maccabigb.org/leadership.