Engaging Young Adults to Help Kids Shine

Kylie Huberman
I first came into contact with Ometz through Concordia University. I was a student studying Human Relations as my major and Human Rights as my minor. In order to graduate, I had to partake in a fieldwork practice experience. In my final year of school, an Ometz employee came into my classroom to talk about the organization. Specifically, she was recruiting someone to come in and implement their fieldwork practice at the Ometz Jr MYP program. The JR MYP afterschool program engages children to succeed by providing them academic and social support. The children are supported by volunteers, who act as mentors over the course of the year. I knew that my partner and I would not only benefit from this because it was within our Jewish community, but we would be able to implement a program that would impact the lives of these children. I am so thankful for this opportunity because it led me to apply to a position within Ometz.
When I got the job as fundraising intern, my title changed to the A Chance to Shine Chair of the Young Adult Committee. Every year, Ometz has an annual gala raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for the child services and programs that the organization provides. My employers were very open to starting a new initiative called the Shine Afterparty. We decided to create this initiative in order to engage the 18-30 age cohort of our Jewish community. I started as an intern once a week throughout the year and I got hired as a summer student so that I can work on the party full-time.
Because I was organizing the Afterparty, inevitably my proudest moment was seeing the outcome, on the night of the event. The A Chance to Shine gala was so well put together and the Shine Afterparty was a huge success. There were over 100 guests who attended the Shine Afterparty. I received so much support from the Ometz staff as well as the committee members. I could not have asked for a more fulfilling experience. I knew that the evening would be successful, if I could be confident that one guest felt inspired. The goal of the Afterparty is to create future ambassadors within Ometz and the community. Not only did people feel inspired, but I’ve received an overwhelming response from the attended guests.
Ometz is truly a special organization. What is unique about the organization is that they are open-minded to new programs and opportunities. Ometz will continue to prosper and will only grow to support more members of our community. There is still so much about Ometz that I have yet to learn. Although I will be leaving to Israel for a year to study a Master’s in Nonprofit Management and Leadership, I know that my time at Ometz is not over.

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