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Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh Center for Loving Kindness and Civic Engagement
How NCJW Pittsburgh Helped 100 Students Cast Their First Ballots
This spring, the National Council of Jewish Women Pittsburgh helped 100 Pittsburgh-area high school students cast ballots. The “Allegheny Youth Vote Block Party”, which hosted approximately 300 students, was NCJW Pittsburgh’s first time doing an initiative of this kind – designed to make civic participation for Pittsburgh students accessible, engaging, and student-driven.
In partnership with a coalition of eight organizations, NCJW Pittsburgh worked alongside the county elections office to bring students to an official satellite voting location. Newly eligible voters could request, complete, and submit their mail-in ballots all at once for the 2026 primary in Pennsylvania. After voting, students headed to a downtown Pittsburgh block party that transformed civic engagement into a celebration. The event featured a DJ, lawn games, chalk art, food trucks, student speakers, elected officials, and a resource fair with 20 community organizations.
It was a worthwhile investment that allowed for widespread participation. Through joint fundraising efforts, the coalition covered transportation costs so students from lower-income school districts could participate. Rachel Golman, Senior Director of Social Impact with NCJW Pittsburgh, noted:
Action Plan: Help 100 high-school students cast ballots.
Partner Since: 2025
The youth vote block party was the culmination of a broader youth civic engagement initiative the coalition has been building since late 2023. Previous programming included student-led mayoral candidate interviews, peer-to-peer voter registration drives, and focused on recognizing misinformation, civic participation, and local elections.
“There’s so much power in our program because we have a real emphasis on student leadership and peer-to-peer engagement,” Golman continued. “It’s a very different situation for someone my age to show up at a high school with a clipboard and try to convince students to register to vote, versus working with the school, with the teachers, with the students, and having students encourage their peers to vote.”
The organizers of the initiative hoped to instill civic education while addressing misinformation, which they encountered directly in conversations with students regarding the voting process. Some students they spoke with felt disconnected from politics altogether, while others had inaccurate ideas about voting and voter registration. For instance, there were students worried that registering to vote could make them eligible for the military draft.
These conversations reinforced that registration alone isn’t enough to increase voter participation; students also need opportunities for civic learning, dialogue, and trust-building. They found that working directly with school districts was essential.
“We were able to close a block in downtown Pittsburgh and have a party on a school day. There were 100 kids who cast their first votes that day.”
“We’ve been fortunate to partner with people who understand how to navigate school systems and build trust with administrators and educators. We provide stipends to teachers because teachers are already overworked and underpaid, and we don’t want this to feel like just another unpaid responsibility. We provide stipends for student leaders because we want to make participation accessible and sustainable.”
The initiative was not without challenges. Planning coincided with the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, which delayed permit approvals and created major transportation disruptions across the city. Students were also balancing AP exams and state testing after schools unexpectedly shifted to asynchronous learning during draft week. Despite these obstacles, along with accounting for the costs of buses, meals, and staffing, the coalition successfully created a welcoming and memorable first voting experience for students.
“It’s really inspiring to work with students and watch them build their capacity for this work. Some students were speaking in front of hundreds of their peers at the block party. Others were helping organize voter registration efforts inside their schools.”
Looking ahead, NCJW Pittsburgh is continuing to explore ways to engage graduating seniors before they leave for college or the workforce. The coalition is also expanding its focus on civic education and misinformation prevention after hearing concerns and misconceptions from students about voting and the election process. And there’s a growing student interest in becoming poll workers. As Golman reflects,
“The landscape is difficult. But there are young people who are invested and want to do something to change it.”
By bringing students directly into the democratic process, NCJW Pittsburgh is sparking change.
To connect with Rachel Golman, you can reach out to her here.
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