Atlanta Jewish Foundation Impact Story
May 20, 2026
Today’s teen girls are growing up in a world of constant pressure.
Social media has created a culture where self-worth is often measured in likes and followers, and cyber-bullying is rampant. Academic competition begins earlier than ever. Many young people lost critical social development during the isolation of COVID. Anxiety, loneliness, and self- harming behaviors continue to rise. Jewish teens, in particular, are also navigating growing antisemitism and fears about safety on campus and in the broader world.
For Debbie Derby, these challenges are deeply personal – and they became the inspiration behind Nashira, a new Atlanta-based initiative focused on helping Jewish girls build confidence, connection, and authentic friendships.
We Will Sing
Founded in memory of Debbie’s daughter, Ashira Rabinowitz, Nashira is still in its early stages. Yet in just over a year, the organization has already launched multiple programs, built partnerships across Jewish Atlanta, and begun creating spaces where girls can feel seen, supported, and empowered.
“Nashira was founded to continue the legacy of Ashira,” Debbie said. “She was the epitome of a ‘girl’s girl’ – a source of support, loyalty, and encouragement to her friends and a role model and mentor to younger girls.”
Ashira, who passed away in December 2023 at age twenty while attending Florida State University, left a profound impact on the people around her. Debbie said her family knew Ashira had many friends, but only after her passing did they fully understand the depth of her influence.
“People drove and flew from all over to be at the hospital,” Debbie recalled. “And after she passed away, the letters we received and the posts on social media – we really didn’t realize how much impact she had on others.”
Friends described Ashira as someone who instantly made others feel welcome. “She had a lot of social intelligence. People said they met her during the first week of school and she immediately started talking to them like they’d been old friends.”
Ashira’s name meant “I will sing” in Hebrew, and her spirit of kindness and togetherness became the foundation for Nashira – “we will sing.”
Rising Together
The organization officially launched in spring 2025 and quickly introduced its signature initiative: Rising Together, a monthly on-campus program for high school girls.
Led by certified teen and young adult life coach Hannah Zale, the program creates a safe and supportive environment where girls can practice vulnerability, trust, self-acceptance, gratitude, and authentic connection.
The inaugural cohort at The Weber School included thirteen girls, with six already choosing to return for a second year. “Nashira has been one of the greatest opportunities I’ve ever been offered,” one participant shared.
While Nashira came in with a clear vision, the organization also learned quickly from the girls themselves. One of the biggest discoveries was that participants were not looking for lectures or clinical interventions.
“These girls have therapists. These girls have mothers,” Debbie explained. “What they really needed was learning to connect with one another and supporting one another.”
That philosophy has become central to Nashira’s approach. Rather than positioning adults as experts talking down to teens, the organization focuses on peer connection, mentorship, and emotionally safe spaces.
“Trust is a really big factor,” Debbie said. “Trusting that something you say to someone and making yourself vulnerable is not going to be used against you.”
The need for those safe spaces has only intensified in recent years. Debbie pointed to the harmful effects of social media, unrealistic beauty standards, and the lingering social impact of COVID isolation. “There’s learning to be comfortable with yourself – with your body, with your personality,” she said. “We’re trying to produce girls who are courageously and authentically themselves. Girls who lead by example and make others feel seen, included, and supported.”
Starting Early
While Rising Together focuses on high school girls, Nashira’s broader vision begins much earlier. After consulting with educators, therapists, health experts, and organizations including BeWell ATL, JTeen, and CTeen of Atlanta, Nashira’s leadership realized that many of these issues begin developing long before high school.
“We had professionals telling us, ‘Middle school is too late. You need to start in first grade,’” Debbie said.
That insight inspired Growing Together, Nashira’s elementary school initiative. Through the program, the organization donates carefully selected books promoting kindness, confidence, compassion, optimism, and authentic friendship to girls and school libraries across Jewish Atlanta. Books have already been distributed to schools including The Epstein School, Atlanta Jewish Academy, and Davis Academy.
Nashira has also launched a Bat Mitzvah program centered around Jewish values. Participants complete reflections and fundraising projects that support the Growing Together initiative and donate books to their school libraries in their honor.
Earlier this year, the organization hosted its first Galentine’s celebration, bringing together more than 150 women and girls for an evening focused on friendship, positivity, and connection. The event featured Izzi Friedman, Founder of Girls Girls Club in New York.
“A mother approached me at the end of the evening in tears,” Debbie shared, “thanking me for creating a space where her daughter could have the confidence to be vulnerable.”
Lighting a Candle
In its first twelve months, Nashira has already reached hundreds of girls and families through its programs and online presence. The organization is now building leadership committees, expanding partnerships, and preparing for future growth.
Support from Atlanta Jewish Foundation Donor-Advised Fund holders has already helped fuel that momentum. Donations to Nashira can go through The Social Good Fund. To recommend a DAF grant to Nashira, please contact Donor Services Associate, Brett Stanford, at 404-575-3767 or email donorservices@jewishatlanta.org.
For Debbie, the mission remains rooted in one simple but powerful idea: creating the kind of culture Ashira naturally built everywhere she went.
“It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness,” she said.
And through Nashira, that light is beginning to spread throughout Jewish Atlanta and beyond.
