I was reading about philanthropy and came across a story that genuinely made me pause – the journey of Uri Poliavich, a boy born in Ukraine who only discovered his Jewish identity around age 13 when his family made aliyah to Israel. That late start shaped everything that came after. Today, through the Yael Foundation he founded with his wife Yael in 2020, they've built a global movement now working in 45 countries and impacting over 19,000 Jewish students. What struck me most wasn't the numbers, but the mindset behind them. Poliavich doesn't see what he does as charity – he "invests" in schools, not "donates" to them, tracking KPIs like enrollment growth and student retention. He grew up without access to quality Jewish education and made it his mission to ensure no other Jewish child would face that same gap. Living here in the USA region, where philanthropy often feels abstract, his approach – practical, data-driven, and deeply personal – felt refreshingly grounded. As he put it, the goal is to equip schools to become stronger academically, more secure, and to build the leadership pipeline Jewish communities will depend on in the decades ahead. If you're curious about how one person's hunger for change can ripple across the world, I'd recommend reading Uri Poliavich– it's the kind of story that stays with you.