Speaking Up, Giving Back: Molly McCoy on Growing Through OJCYF
Molly McCoy first joined the Oregon Jewish Community Youth Foundation at 13 years old, following in the footsteps of her cousins. Four years later, she has grown from a freshman finding her voice to a leader helping guide her peers through meaningful conversations about community and giving. Here, she reflects on how youth philanthropy has shaped her sense of Jewish identity, what she's learned about collaboration and consensus, and why speaking up made all the difference.
Speaking Up, Giving Back: Molly McCoy on Growing Through OJCYF
Molly McCoy first joined the Oregon Jewish Community Youth Foundation at 13 years old, following in the footsteps of her cousins. Four years later, she has grown from a freshman finding her voice to a leader helping guide her peers through meaningful conversations about community and giving.
Here, she reflects on how youth philanthropy has shaped her sense of Jewish identity, what she's learned about collaboration and consensus, and why speaking up made all the difference.
What first brought you to the OJCYF and what has been the most meaningful part of your work within the foundation?
My cousins had all done OJCYF and my mom thought it sounded cool so she told me about it and then I signed up. I think the most meaningful part of it for me is knowing that I am making a difference in my community through our grants.
How has your involvement with OJCYF shaped your sense of Jewish identity?
I think my involvement has given me a place to think about and apply Jewish values. Additionally, I think being surrounded by other Jewish teens has helped shape my identity.
Youth philanthropy often means making real decisions with real impact at a young age. Can you walk us through an initiative you helped lead or support through the foundation? What did you learn from it?
As a member of the leadership council at our last meeting I helped lead the discussion surrounding where we would donate our money too. These discussions can sometimes be hard since we all have to come to a consensus so leading them can be difficult. However, I think the leadership council and Susan came up with a good plan to make it efficient and effective. From this I learned how to work as a group to come to a consensus as well as how to better keep the discussion on track.
What advice would you give to new members of OJCYF?
One piece of advice I would give to new members in OJCYF is to make sure your voice is heard. My first year as a member I was the only freshman so it was intimidating at times to speak up my second year I definitely talked a lot more. Talking more and voicing my opinion made sure that my ideas were heard and made the program a lot more meaningful to me since my ideas were being used.
