C5 Georgia changes lives, families and communities through intensive five-year leadership and college-readiness programs targeted to high-potential teens from challenging situations.
Jeff Cohen works to interpret and implement the policies of the C5 Youth Foundation, ensuring that all community and camp-based activity is consistent with the mission and philosophy of the organization.
Jeff has more than twenty years of experience in nonprofit management and youth development and has held a variety of leadership positions, including Executive Director of Mentors, Inc., Director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington’s Jewish Experience for Teens and Senior Regional Director of the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization. He and his wife Sarita live in Cumming, Georgia with their three children, Ariana, Arielle, and Tristan.
C5 Georgia is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that is part of a nationwide system of sites that includes C5 New England, C5 LA and C5 Texas. Our legacy is rooted in the good works of former Coca-Cola Enterprises CEO John Alm and was launched with an initial $35 million investment from The Coca-Cola Company and its bottlers under a name that belied the organization’s dedication to unique, hands-on leadership experiences for underserved teens: Camp Coca-Cola.
Today, C5 Georgia is dedicated to creating Character-driven, Community-focused, Challenge-ready, College-bound teens Committed to a better future. The five-year program of immersive, intensive student involvement is unique and recognized as an exemplary model. In 2010, we celebrated the graduation of the very first students to complete the full C5 Georgia program.
C5 Georgia’s Program Goals:
- To help teens develop a vision for their future—one in which they see themselves capable of becoming whatever they choose.
- To give students the skills to be successful while navigating some of the most tumultuous years of their lives, from high school through college and into the workforce for the first time.
- To offer underserved teens the vital experiences needed to both positively shape their vision and practice essential life skills.
- To give teens from challenging environments varied and numerous opportunities to be successful in life and in their communities.
Listen to this interview to hear a great story Jeff shared about the impact this program had on two sisters and their mother.
