For teens in Baltimore, there’s endless opportunities to get involved and 4Front wants to help!
We’re here to connect you to fun, interesting, and interactive opportunities that allow you explore new interests and learn new things.
Check out our list of upcoming programs and events for teens, curated by 4Front and our local and national partners!
Upcoming Programs & Events
4Front Summers: Coming Soon!
June – August 2021
We’re currently working on some awesome programs and events to keep teens engaged, together, and safe this summer! Check back for more information about our summer opportunities including movie nights, pool parties, and pop up service projects. Click below to stay in the know:
Workshop: Between Me, You, and Us
MAY 18, 20 & 25 | 5:00-6:00pm ET | Hosted by: Moving Traditions
Between Me, You, and Us is a workshop series designed by teens, for teens, to promote understanding of and discussion around important topics relevant to exploring personal identity, communicating desires and boundaries, and building healthy relationships. The series consists of three sessions. In the first session, teens are able to gain a broader understanding of their identities by exploring their own sexuality and gender identity through various other activities. It is important to us that the teens are able to better understand their own identities in order to then explore themselves with other people. In the second session, teens are invited to begin talking about their own desires with each other and recognize their personal boundaries. In the third and final session, teens will evaluate their own attitudes and understandings of healthy and unhealthy relationships. Having a safe space for teenagers to explore these personal and meaningful topics is incredibly important as such spaces are not always readily available within the standard high school experience, and this is especially true now in a time when so many teens are navigating physical and social isolation at the same time as they try to figure out who they are are. While these three sessions are connected and we invite teens to participate in all three, participants can also pop in to any session independently. The three sessions will be held on May 18th, May 20th and May 25th each from 5-6pm.
Identity and the Arts
May 20 | 1:00-2:00pm ET | Hosted by: ReelAbilities Film Festival and MNJCC
Students will watch ReelAbilities short film “Full Picture”. Following the film screening, Aiden Lee, abstract painter and disability advocate will guide students in creating 2-3 unique pieces of art that focus on identity and self expression. Designed for grades 5-8.
Laughing Matters: Jewish Teens Tackle Mental Health
May 23 | 8:00pm ET | Hosted by: HereNow and The Blue Dove Foundation
A night of comedy and laughter about celebrating mental health and resilience through comedy. Join teens making their comedy debut and professional stand-up comedians for a night of laughter!
Past Programs
Know Before You Go: Israel and the College Campus
Campus Conversations #3 – Where Do We Belong?
April 12, 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. | Partners: JCC and 4Front
On some college campuses the conversation around Israel is highly contentious and divisive. This series is to help you create engaged meaningful conversations around Israel and being Jewish on campus.
Teen Service Council Pop-up #4: Food Insecurity
Sunday, May 2nd | Grades 9-12 | Time & Location TBA
Join 4Front’s fourth and final TSC pop-up of the year as we learn about food insecurity in our community.
Teen Service Council Pop-up #3: Virtual Muffin Day
Sunday, March 14th, 12:00-2:00pm | Grades 9-12 | Location: Your Kitchen | Cost: $25 | Community Service Hours: 3 Hours
Join us for our annual muffin baking party! National Muffin Day is a baking extravaganza that brings awareness and funding to issues surrounding homelessness in America and the great organizations tackling it. Join 4Front’s virtual baking party and learn directly from individuals who have experienced homelessness firsthand.
FUN(d): A Teen Giving Circle Intensive
6 Sessions: Sundays, March 7 – May 26 | Grades: 9-12 | Cost: $350 ($250 for program fees, $100 towards communal fundraising goal) | Community Service Hours: 10 Hours
Want to make a difference in the community? Put your money where your mouth is! Make an impact with thoughtful, strategic, and inspired giving to causes you care about. This year, FUN(d) will feature six sessions spread throughout the three months and will focus our fundraising and allocation efforts toward community Covid-19 relief, giving participants the ability to respond to real time community needs. The program will have a hybrid curriculum of virtual meetings and in person gatherings, as covid-19 restrictions allow. Experience what it means to be a philanthropist and why it is so important to give back to the community.
Enter One2One
February – May, 2021 | Virtual | Hosted by: Enter- The Jewish Peoplehood Alliance
One2One: An online, individualized mifgash for Israeli and Diaspora teens! Seeking Jewish teens for a one-of-a-kind program! We invite you to meet an Israeli high school student for a series of curated one on one video encounters. If you are a high-school student, and have always wanted to meet an Israeli teen who shares the same interests, now is your chance! You are invited to join One2One and create a new connection.
Each pairing will have 5 encounters over 2-3 months, beginning in February. Encounters are half hour, structured, video-based mifgashim, plus one prep meeting and exit interview. Encounters would be scheduled for Sundays. Choose a special interest track, including sport, history, art & music, or science & technology.
Interested? Email Diana Solomon at dsolomon@4frontbaltimore.org
STAC Pop Up Series: Lobbying 101- How to talk to State Lawmakers
4 Sessions: Wednesdays- Feb 3, Feb 10, Feb 17, Feb 24 | Grades: 9-12 | Virtual | Cost: $200 | Community Service Hours: 5 hours
Are you ready to make REAL change? In partnership with the Baltimore Jewish Council, STAC’s winter pop-up series will give you the opportunity to impact our state as you learn about and get involved in Maryland’s legislation process. This 4-week series is designed to expose you to the systems of government at the Federal and State levels, a variety of public policy and social justice issues, and the Jewish values that inform our community’s advocacy around these issues. During the series you’ll select a bill to lobby for or against in the State House and we’ll give you the tools to write effective, persuasive, and passionate testimony to share with state decision-makers.
If You See Something, Say Something
Tuesday, February 2 | 8:00-9:00pm | Virtual | Hosted by: CTeen
This virtual workshop will train teens to recognize signs of one struggling with suicide and help them know what to do. The workshop will be facilitated by Mrs. Leigh Loffe, certified safeTALK trainer and mental health advocate. This is a free workshop offered by CTeen Baltimore and CTeen Gilbert.
Questions? Contact Chana Solomon at chana@jointhecircle.com
Teen Service Council Pop-Up: Factuality, the Game
Sunday, January 17 | 1:00-3:00pm | Virtual
In partnership with JVC’s MLK Day of Service, our winter Teen Service Council pop-up will give teens the opportunity to experience a truly unique and enlightening service-learning activity by participating in the Factuality, The Game– a crash course on structural inequality in America. Thanks to our partners, this is a free program for teens grades 9-12. In Partnership With: Jewish Volunteer Connection, Elijah Cummings Youth Program, Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, Achshav (a program of Beth El and Chizuk Amuno Congregations), Oheb Shalom Har Sinai Congregation, and Beth Israel Congregation
4Front & BHC Hannukah Mitzvah Project and Party DRIVE BY
Tuesday, December 15| 4:00-6:00pm | Owings Mills JCC- Sapolsky Circle 3506 Gwynnbrook Ave Owings Mills, MD 21117
New Details: Join us at the Owings Mills JCC in Sapolsky Circle for a drive-by Hannukah celebration & service project! Stop by to say hello, grab some hot cocoa and sufganiyot, and help us put together donation bags for individuals experiencing homelessness at Beans and Bread. Open to teens grades 6-12, stop by any time between 4:00-6:00pm. No RSVP needed. Please wear a mask.
Experience Ethiopian Jewish Culture with Haim, an Ethiopian-Israeli teenager
Sunday, November 15, 2020 | 1:00pm | ZOOM
Hosted by: The Macks Center for Jewish Education
The Macks Center for Jewish Education invites you to learn, engage, and experience the Ethiopian Jewish Culture through the eyes of Haim, an Israeli teenager of Ethiopian descent. Hosted by the Baltimore Shinshinim, Israeli high school graduates who volunteer as informal educators in our community and schools, Haim will share his family story and traditions. A special Ethiopian gift will be delivered to those who registered by November 9th and live in Baltimore City or Baltimore County.
We welcome participants of all abilities. If you need any special accommodations, please contact shaikafox@cjebaltimore.org.
Social Innovation Hackathon
Sunday, October 25, 2020 | 1-5pm | Virtual | 4Front Signature Program
Join like-minded Jewish teens from around the country for this one-day event to learn how to become a young social changemaker and use innovative thinking to turn problems into opportunities.
Facilitated by entrepreneur and VC investor Henrik Scheel of Startup Experience, teens will go through the entire entrepreneurial process to create innovative solutions to our world’s most pressing issues. Develop your entrepreneurial mindset, boost your creative capacity, and work with teens from around the country, while learning how to use business to make a positive impact in our world!
URJ: High Holidays Opportunities for Reform Jewish Teens
Sept 9-29, 2020 | Virtual | Hosted by: Union for Reform Judaism
Join Reform Jewish teens for a meaningful, month-long High Holidays experience! Through fun and engaging virtual programming, we will focus on the core theme of betterment – of yourself, your community, and the world.
We will begin Rosh HaShanah with the intention of becoming the best version of ourselves, and will have a mindful and meditative Tashlich experience as well as the opportunity to find compassion for ourselves as we strive to do better. Next, we hope to see you as we work to better our communities through connection with older generations. To culminate our High Holidays offerings, we will lead directly into bettering the world through civic engagement, and we will join together as a community for a dessert breakfast. Throughout, there will be smaller supplemental experiences that you can take part in on your own time from the comfort of your own home.
Elul Speaker Series: Adina Lichtman, “Give tzedakah for a cause you support”
Thursday, Sept 24, 2020 | 8:00pm | Zoom | Hosted by: BBYO
Join the founder of Knock Knock Give a Sock Adina Lichtman, as she helps us understand the importance of giving– no matter what the amount and how we all have the power to make a difference!
Tashlich with 4Front Baltimore
Sunday, Sept 20, 2020 | 2:00pm | Red Run Stream Valley Trail
Join 4Front on Rosh Hashanah for a beautiful, short hike and environmentally friendly Tashlich to get a fresh start in 5781. In Hebrew, tashlich means to “cast off.” In this short High Holiday ceremony, we will symbolically throw away those moments when we weren’t our best selves over the past year in order to let go and reset for the new one ahead.
Meet us in the parking lot of the Red Run Stream Valley Trail in Owings Mills off of Dolfield Blvd (9500 Dolfield Road Owings Mills, MD 21117). We will practice social distancing and ask you to please wear your mask. RSVP is required.
Elul Speaker Series: Billy Planer, “Find a petition and sign it”
Wednesday, Sept 16, 2020 | 8:00pm | Zoom | Hosted by: BBYO
Join Billy Planer of Etgar 36 as he helps us reflect racial justice, getting comfortable with uncomfortable conversations, and our Elul prompt of the day: Find a petition and sign it
Billy Planer has worked with Jewish experiential education for 35 years. Challenged by a friend, Billy interviewed people while on a road trip around America. Half way through, he realized he should be bringing teens to these historical spots and meet with people who are involved in changing the world. Etgar 36 is a summer journey that takes Jewish teens on a bus across America to learn history, politics and activism and find their voice and power by meeting with all sides of political issues, understand the unique culture of each city, become empowered to get involved to create change and develop their American and Jewish identities. https://www.etgar.org/
4Front Summer Hangouts
Weekly, July & August | Owings Mills JCC, Outside | Hosted by: 4Front Baltimore
Bored at home with nothing to do? Join 4Front for weekly outdoor hangouts this July and August to get together safely with other teens & have some summer fun! We’re hosting fun evening events like teen-only pool parties, outdoor movies, and evening hikes. All hangouts will take place outside at the Owings Mills JCC campus and safety is our top priority! We hope you’ll join us and can’t wait to see you again! Space is limited for each hangout, so RSVP is required. Sign up for one or all!
All events will be held outside and are weather permitting. COVID-19 safety precautions like social distancing, wearing masks while interacting with others, and temperature checks prior to entry will be required.
Jewish Agency for Israel: Global TeenFest 2Gether
Sunday, August 23, 2020 | Virtual
The Jewish Agency’s Partnership Unit invites you to join the first Virtual International Festival for Jewish Teens: Facing Corona 2Gether!
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our lives and the way we do things. Among other issues, most summer programs have been cancelled, our youth have spent many months in lockdown, and there are fewer opportunities for Jewish teens from all over the world to connect with each other. The Jewish Agency’s Partnership Unit invites the teens in your community to a creative, accessible platform for meeting other Jewish teens from Israel and around the globe, strengthening their Jewish ties and having fun in an international event for thousands of young people: a virtual international Jewish youth festival. For teens ages 14-19 from around the world.
4Front Virtual Info Session
Monday, August 17, 2020 | 7:00-8:00pm | ZOOM | Hosted by: 4Front Baltimore
Join us on Zoom for a virtual info session to learn about 4Front’s 2020-2021 Signature Programs. We’ll be sharing about our new program format redesign, calendar, and seasonal recruitment. Come with your questions! This session will be recorded for those who can’t attend.
Missed out info session: Watch the recording here!
Virtual Youth Leadership Summit on Education Equity
July 20-22, 2020 | Hosted by: National Youth Leadership Council
Our current education systems increase disparities for students of color from the school to prison pipeline and unsafe school climates to whitewashed curriculum and policies. Lack of trauma-informed mental health support, cultural competency, and anti-racist practices create unjust school climates. All of this and more lends itself to education equity remaining one of the greatest issues of our time.
This student-led event will bring together youth to develop their skills for community action through a series of trainings that explore personal identity rooted in social and emotional learning. The three-day event will provide sessions on the explorations of personal leadership styles and cultural backgrounds, youth/adult partnerships, and action-planning for assessments leading to addressing community needs. Registration is FREE.