Avi Trutwein

Teen Advisor and Office Assistant

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As a high school student in Toronto, Jewish summer camp alum, and child of divorce, Avi brings a unique and informed perspective to the Divorce Through a Jewish Lens team. While spending his summers at Camp JCA Malibu in California, Avi developed his own sense of Jewish identity and the importance of community. Because his experiences there were so meaningful, Avi chose to have his Bar-Mitzvah ceremony and celebration at Camp JCA. Avi also participated in his camp's Teenage Service Camp, TASC. It was here that he learned about the importance of giving back to the community that means so much to him. The experience of giving back at camp has fed other choices that Avi has made since. This includes volunteering for the organization Heart to Heart, which brings Jewish Israeli and Palestinian youth together for co-existence building. Additionally, Avi worked one on one mentoring a child with special needs.

 

Avi's first hand experience of divorce has also informed his identity and interests. Avi is presently working on his thesis for his grade 11 Sociology class, "Hostile Divorce's Impact on a Teen's Mental Health ". He chose this topic to highlight the experience of teenagers who's parents are going through divorce, and how this impacts their daily lives.