“Light Up Their Nights” was a campaign started by KCteen in the weeks before Chanukah. KCteen is a community of empowered Jewish teenagers who find fun, meaningful ways to give back to their community.
The KCteen launch event was a get-together where attendees decorated 400 Hanukkah cookies to be distributed to local “Modern Day Maccabees” — frontline healthcare workers. The teens socialized, enjoyed a gourmet waffle bar and played air hockey.
When the holiday began, the teens shared the homemade cookies with frontline healthcare workers across greater Kansas City. Over the eight nights of Hanukkah, KCteen teenagers visited eight hospitals and met representatives of the hospital staff outside to share holiday cheer. Each group of healthcare workers received a wrapped package of cookies with Hanukkah decorations to help spread the holiday’s spirit. At each hospital, a Jewish doctor spent time with the teens and shared some of their stories and experiences.
“You save a life, you save the world. Every single person is an entire world to me, that’s what keeps me going,” said Dr. Andrew Schlachter, an ICU pulmonologist at Saint Luke's Hospital of Kansas City.
“It’s hard to describe, but there is a special feeling when you're doing good. It’s kind of nice,” said Evie Freed, a freshman at Blue Valley North High School.
The medical staff were appreciative of the gesture and the opportunity to celebrate Hanukkah with their colleagues despite the holiday often being poorly represented in the hospitals.
Each night of Hanukkah, the KCteen Instagram and Facebook pages featured a different “healthcare hero” who was recognized for the specific healing they bring to our community.
Chabad on Call, the international branch of Chabad that pertains to hospitals and doctors, picked up the “Modern Day Maccabee” concept and recognized healthcare workers in its cities.
“It just shows how much a teen can make a difference — our teens made hundreds of healthcare workers’ Hanukkahs meaningful and sparked a global campaign,” said Rabbi Avremi Baron, director of KCteen.
On December 18, KCteen will convene to make blankets for the homeless. Email Rabbi Baron at for more information about KCteen.
