Renée Polsky Silver comes from a long line of volunteers. Her family members also have volunteered for Jewish Family Services for years. JFS salutes the Polsky family as its volunteers of the month.
“We have been involved from my parents, Ellen and Larry Polsky, grandparents Norman and Elaine Polsky and Rosalind and Sidney Ginsburg and my great grandparents, Rachel and Isadore Polsky and Leona Goldfinger," Polsky Silver said. “My bubbe, Rachel Polsky, would go to the Jewish nursing home and cut the residents’ toenails. She would collect money for tzedakah. My grandmothers were involved with so many organizations — National Council of Jewish Women, Hadassah, Kansas City Free Health Clinic — the list goes on and on.”
One memorable story involved her parents adopting a Jewish couple and their baby who immigrated to Kansas City from Russia.
“My parents helped them settle in their apartment that was across from the JCC, taught them how to go grocery shopping, provided them with things they needed such as diapers and furniture, transported them places, had them over for many meals, taught them how to drive, and still keep in touch with them today,” Polsky Silver said.
Polsky Silver, who lives in Overland Park, Kan., near the Jewish Community Campus, first became involved with JFS when she started gift wrapping with her mother and sister during the agency’s Hanukkah projects. Over the years, Polsky Silver recruited family members and friends to assist with the gift-wrapping efforts. She also recruited the next generation of volunteers, her children Nathan, Lainey, and Sophie Silver, to help out.
“Two years ago, we took home Hanukkah cards that needed to be decorated. The kids got to decorate them and we included them with the gifts that were being wrapped,” she said. While the COVID-19 pandemic sidelined JFS’s official Hanukkah Project gift wrapping celebration, the Polsky family coordinated with JFS staff to continue their holiday tradition as they dropped off the Hanukkah Project gifts at their home.
“We spent two nights wrapping gifts and enjoying each other's company. It felt so good to do something ‘normal’ and to be able to help during this time of COVID,” Polsky Silver said. “It was very therapeutic for all of us.”
Before the pandemic, she also volunteered as a JET Express driver. Polsky Silver started driving for JET Express after bonding with the Village Shalom residents and staff when her late grandmother was a resident.
“When my grandmother Elaine passed, I missed seeing my grandparents’ friends, other residents and staff whom we had gotten to know at Village Shalom,” she said. “I was looking for a new way to contribute to our community. That's when I found JET Express.”
Polsky Silver’s children accompanied her as a JET Express driver, and they truly enjoyed spending time with their favorite passenger, Ms. Myrna, who sang songs and told stories to the kids during their rides.
“Every Friday morning, the kids would ask ‘Do we get to see Ms. Myrna today?’" Polsky Silver said. “We can't wait to get back to driving with JET Express.”
For Renée and her husband, Larry, it is important to teach their children the power of Tikkun Olam, repairing the world, passing along that family tradition.
“It is so important to us to teach and include our children about the importance of Tikkun Olam and doing things for other people,” Polsky Silver said. “This is something helpful and fun that we can do as a family.”
If you are interested in becoming a JFS volunteer, please contact the volunteer engagement team at (913) 730-1410 or .
