Jessica Koslow

“I remember when I went to visit Camp Bob Waldorf and I saw this young camper — he was a first-time camper — and I said, what are you looking forward to?” said Lauren Kurzweil, Board President at Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles (JBBBSLA). “I’m thinking he’s going to say horseback riding or the high ropes or something truly unique that he’s not able to do at home, and he said, three meals a day. That just gives you some indication of how much even just five days means to them.”

The young camper’s answer is why Kurzweil does what she does full-time: Keep JBBBSLA operating year-round through its four main programs — camp, mentorship, teen programming and College Access + Success.

“Our foundation is built on the mentoring,” she explained. “We’re Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters, and that’s our core. The people who are involved in our program don’t have to be practicing necessarily, but both the Bigs and the Littles need to identify as Jewish.” . . .

Read the entire article at LA Downtown News.

Jacob Adams, founder of Inner Spark Learning Lab, winner of the 2026 California Nonprofit of the Year award, was a rebel of sorts in elementary school.

“I knew I had to do my work. I knew I had to learn, but after I did my work, I would usually talk or play and get in trouble,” he revealed. “I feel like I’ve always had a contentious relationship with school.”

For Adams, education was never fun. He never got to ask the questions he really cared about. Instead of veering away from the field, Adams steered straight toward it. After college, he signed up for Teach for America and eventually created and launched his own nonprofit, Inner Spark Learning Lab: Teaching Black and Brown students to design the world they want to live in. His model is based on three words: listen, learn, adapt. . . .

Read the entire article at LA Downtown News.

Jill Weiss Ippolito’s love story is the stuff movies are made of. The film synopsis would read: She was a kid in juvenile hall. Not once, but three times she fell from a second-story building. At 18, she broke her third lumbar and wore a back brace for a year. At age 29, she had to have her left arm rebuilt in metal and began practicing yoga to heal. Nick was a student in her class, where he developed a crush and a strong practice. They fell in love, married and founded the South Pasadena-based nonprofit, UpRising Yoga, which offers yoga life skills training to incarcerated youth.

So, about two months ago, when an invite to participate in 2026 America’s Favorite Couple (AFC) contest popped up as she was scrolling in the wee hours of the night, Ippolito thought, why not? She would love to share her story with Variety magazine, win $20,000 to help fund UpRising Yoga and have a dinner date with AFC Ambassadors Jeff and Emilie Goldblum. . . .

Read the entire article at Pasadena Weekly.

All Eagle Scouts must complete an Eagle Scout Project, but not every project catches the attention of the higher-ups at the Western Los Angeles County Council Scouting America. Seventeen-year-old Agustya Karadkar has been part of Troop 1 West Los Angeles for about 3 1/2 years. He is currently a senior at Loyola High School of Los Angeles and an Eagle Scout, the highest rank in the Scouting program of Scouting America. This summer, he spent his break leading a community donation drive to create care kits for children receiving treatment at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA).

Recently, a member of Karadkar’s family became seriously ill, which steered the focus of his scout project in its current direction.

“It kind of woke me up to the realization that these kids may not be enjoying themselves because they’re going through treatment,” Karadkar said. “I’m hoping this will put a smile on their faces, a smile on their family’s faces, as they are tackling all these challenges in their lives.” . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.