Pages tagged "About"
Giselle Davey
Giselle Davey was the winner of the 2018 Gandel Young Leader Award (Vic). She ultilised her love for swimming to support a cause close to her and her family’s hearts. After completing Stand Up ABC, as part of the UJEB Bat Mitzvah program, Giselle decided to raise funds in support of the Ardoch Youth Foundation. Giselle raised over $1300 by challenging herself to swim as many laps as physically possible over the course of one hour, and managed to cover an amazing 4km through her efforts.
I graduated out of Stand Up ABC wanting to make a change. Making a change in the world is possible even if you are not in a position of power. Doing something small for a few people is still a significant change. Swimming is something that I enjoy, and wanted to combine my passion with helping others.
Ellie Frey
Ellie was the winner of the 2019 Gandel Young Leader Award (Vic). She donated her hair to Hair with Heart, who make wigs for those who have lost their hair due to medical conditions. Mazel tov Ellie!
Kayla Fox
Kayla is the Gandel Young Leader Award Winner in 2017. Kayla was inspired after doing Stand Up ABC to collect over 300+ secondhand books that she donated to the Ardoch Youth Foundation. Kayla's donation via Ardoch gave 200 less privileged kids the opportunity to take books home (some for the first time) and improve their literacy levels.
Mazel Tov Kayla!
Gary Samowitz
Gary Samowitz was Stand Up's first CEO, serving for more than ten years. He is passionate about social change and experiential learning. Gary told the Australian Jewish News that he considered his work with Sudanese refugees, building and strengthening relationships between Indigenous elders and Jewish children, and the publication of Stand Up’s Haggadot as some of the highlights of his time at Stand Up. Thank you Gary for all your work to build Stand Up into what it is today.
Today, being Jewish is a choice and there’s a lot of competing interests out there. We need to make being Jewish inspiring and not something you do purely out of guilt. I don’t feel guilt is sustaining.
Does Stand Up provide kosher meals?
Yes. There will always be kosher food available to volunteers who have requested kosher food, and all our major events are strictly kosher.
Do you have volunteering opportunities for children?
From time to time we have opportunities for children to get involved. We believe it’s vital that children are introduced to values of giving and social justice from an early age. For more information please contact [email protected].
How old must you be to volunteer with Stand Up?
We accept volunteers of any age. However, most of the opportunities for volunteering are suited to those 18 years or over.
Dean Levitan (Chair)
Dean is a Partner at MinterEllison, specialising in media and communications law. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Dean worked at Stand Up for 5 years as the campaign manager, helping to lead Stand Up’s efforts to mobilise the Jewish community toward important social policy change. In his spare time, Dean is an eager, yet decidedly average, yoga goer.
Qualifications: Bachelor of Arts (Hons) (Monash University), Bachelor of Law (Hons) (Monash University).
Andrew Woolf (Treasurer)
Andrew is a Chartered Accountant with 13 years of experience and is currently a Director at PwC in Melbourne. He works with a number of different ASX listed and privately owned clients delivering assurance and advisory services.
Qualifications: Bachelor of Commerce, Chartered Accountant.