For six weeks ending Monday, Aug. 6, 12 teens and their four adult leaders slept in a classroom at Congregation Ohev Sholom, showered and enjoying the facilities of the Jewish Community Center, and most importantly, volunteered in the greater Kansas City area and Joplin.
As part of the American Jewish Society for Service’s (AJSS) summer program, the teens in the Kansas City area were one of three groups who were volunteering in different parts of the country. They devoted six weeks of their summer vacation to do tikkun olam, while learning about themselves and others. All of the teens are in high school — two are from Canada and 10 from other regions in the United States.
“This is a very unique experience,” said Mara Herling, one of the staff members who also participated in the program when she was a teen. “We take a group of people who are all Jewish, but practice differently, and make them a cohesive group who volunteer together.”
“Some of these participants are already active volunteers in their communities,” she added, “while others have never volunteered. But they form a community and come back after a long day of work knowing that they helped someone … they made a difference in the community.”
AJSS was founded in 1950 by three rabbis who were inspired by the civil rights movement. According to its website, the aim is for “teens to experience tikkun olam, immerse themselves in communities different from their own, and make a difference in the life of others.”
If Jared Soffer, age 17, is typical of the other students, then the program is succeeding. Soffer, who is from New Jersey, had never been to the Midwest before. He joined the program because two of his cousins participated in previous years and had a great experience.
“I wanted to do community service in the country,” he said, “while also learning about Judaism.”
He had many experiences that have been meaningful to him. The five days they spent volunteering in Joplin was “exciting.”
“You hear about it on the news,” he said, “but when you see it and speak to the people, it is different.”
As part of the program the students focus on doing community service, but they also have educational experiences. Besides traveling to Joplin to volunteer in the tornado-ravaged city, they also traveled to Omaha to spend time with the Jewish community there and to see the sites.
“It is a cross-denominational program,” said Shifra Mincer, the program director for the Kansas City trip. She stressed that the community service is combined with an educational component.
The participants visited places of interest in the area, including the World War I Museum and Union Station. They also learned about their Judaism by participating in Reform, Conservative and Orthodox Jewish worship services. On top of that, they spent time with local families … one weekend of home stays with BIAV members and another weekend doing home stays in Omaha.
Their volunteer activities, besides their work in Joplin, included clearing land for Habitat for Humanity, working at Cultivate Kansas City, bringing produce to Hope Faith Ministries and volunteering in the local Jewish community’s Mitzvah Garden.
“I enjoy the service part of the program the best,” Soffer said. “It makes a difference in the community, but it is also good to meet the people.”
He has enjoyed meeting the other participants.
“I enjoyed meeting new people from different parts of the country,” he said. “I have new connections and friends for life.”
The group spent a great deal of time learning about food, how it is grown, harvesting it and seeing how it is used by food pantries. They spent time on a farm in Kansas, learning about corn. They spent many hours working in the Mitzvah Garden and then bringing the produce to the designated food pantries, where they sorted and prepared the food for distribution.
“We did a lot of gardening and harvesting,” Soffer said. “But we also go to the food pantries and work with the people who are helping others. We see how the food we harvested affects people.”
The group’s hard work was appreciated by those who worked with them.
“What a fantastic group to work with,” said Batsheva Glatt, the educational programs coordinator at the Mitzvah Garden. “Not only did they do hard physical labor in the Mitzvah Garden during the hottest summer on record, but they also helped deliver the produce to our partner organizations. They were delightful. I would love for them to come back in the future!”
It’s an experience that changes these teens forever.
“It is so wonderful to see the changes the participants go through,” said Herling. “The personal growth and self-awareness that develops through the program is amazing. It is a life-changing experience impacting their world view and prospective, which is the most important part of the program. It is incredible to watch and is why I love this program.”