Today on GIVE West, half of us volunteered at an organization that provides childcare supplies to foster families called Arizona’s Helping Hands. We helped pack school supplies in knapsacks so that children will have full knapsacks to bring to school. Afterward, we decorated bags filled with birthday presents for children in the foster care system. I now realize and appreciate how privileged I am to have parents who love and care for me. Overall it was fun helping out this amazing organization!

(Bayla Lightman, Lawrence NY)

This morning my group went to the Desert Mission Food Bank. We sorted different food items such as candy, snacks, dairy items, and produce. It felt so good to know that the food we were packing would help so many people. We also helped the clients there “shop” for their food. We went around the “store” with them and helped them gather all of the items they would be taking home that day. It was really nice to be able to help others hands-on, and get to hear the things that the people we were helping had to say. This was such an eye-opening chesed that helped us appreciate all the things we normally take for granted.

(Tali Hertz, Hewlett, NY)

After our chesed this morning, we headed to Butcher Jones State Park. We got off the bus and everybody was in awe of the sight in front of us. The mountains framed the lake and created a picturesque scene. It even had horses grazing on the sparse grass. We hiked a winding path with amazing views. The group stopped after a little while and took pictures. We turned around and walked back to the sandy edge of the lake. Everybody ran towards the cool water. Once everybody was fully drenched and feeling refreshed, we headed back to the buses. We got back to the hotel and had a bit of free time before Minute to Win It – the most exciting night activity yet! It was full of surprising and entertaining challenges such as keeping balloons off the floor, moving cotton balls to another plate with only your nose and Vaseline, and even stringing raw penne on a raw piece of spaghetti without your hands. The night was filled with laughter and joy and ended with an inspiring mishmar led by the different advisors.

(Veeta Gewirtz, Monsey, NY)

This morning on GIVE WEST we went to the St. Vincent de Paul soup kitchen. We got to prepare and serve food to the homeless community in Phoenix. It was really incredible watching their faces light up as we served them different foods such as bread that we sliced, popcorn that we popped, ice cream that we scooped, and salad that we tossed. We served ice cream and we got to see how happy they were to eat something that we usually just take for granted. At the end, we went around to clear and wipe off the tables where everyone was eating. It was an amazing experience to interact with people that have such different lifestyles than the ones we are privileged to have. It put our lives into perspective and made us realize how fortunate we really are!

In the afternoon, we walked the beautiful Bell Rock Canyon trail in Sedona. We stopped to take pictures in front of the gorgeous mountains and got to observe and appreciate the wondrousness of Hashem’s creations! It was a hot and beautiful walk and we had a great time. When we got back to the hotel we were greeted with a delicious dinner and then played a fun game of GW Panoply for night activity. We can’t wait to see what GIVE West has in store for the next few weeks!!!

Alyssa Dachs, Woodmere, NY
Rebecca Mermelstein, New York, NY

On Friday night, we had a meaningful and beautiful Kabbalas Shabbas and an amazing Dvar Torah from Leah about the theme of Shabbos, ‘Bein Adam L’Makom’. We had a delicious Friday night dinner, followed by a fun and exciting Oneg Shabbos filled with singing and so many yummy snacks. Our advisors sang a funny gramin to get us excited for the summer. After an amazing fun-filled day, we headed back to our rooms and hung out with all of our new friends. Then we called it a night! Can’t wait for many more fun shabbosim on GIVE West!

(Ahuva Langsam, Woodmere, NY)

Shabbos Day was one of the most meaningful days I’ve ever experienced! Shacharis in the morning was followed by kiddish and inspiring learning session with my new friends! We learned an article called, “The Last Jew” and discussed how our nation has survived over so many years by their different connections to Hashem. After some free time and a yummy Shabbos lunch, a group of girls and I played the NCSY version of ‘Would You Rather’ with our advisors! We then had a long time to rest and hang out with our new friends. Later, we davened Mincha, learned a little about communication with Hashem, and had Seudat Shelishit. Next we ‘ebbed’ shabbos away with meaningful songs and an amazing speech about our yetzer harah from Leah. Before we knew it shabbos was over!! Can’t wait for more fun on GIVE West!!

(Leora Winograd, Boca Raton, FL)

On Friday morning we all woke up with smiles on our faces, excited to start the first official day of GIVE West 2018! We started off the day with davening and then ate an awesome breakfast! After that, we all sat in our groups for Chaburah time. Each amazing advisor gave a little shiur to their group. We talked about all different middot! After that we headed to Habitat for Humanity, and did lots of chesed. We made beach chairs for people who can’t afford them, and some people painted signs so that all of the things were labeled for people to find easily. It felt really amazing to give to people! Overall the morning was amazing! Can’t wait for more!!

(Dina Baron, Bergenfield, NJ)

What an awesome day! After an amazing chesed trip, we headed over to Big Surf Waterpark. When we got there we had the BEST pizza ever for lunch!!! After lunch, everyone was so excited to get in the water and cool off. The water slides and wave pool were so much fun! We then left the park and headed over to Walmart. It was so much fun walking around and getting stuff. Today was an awesome day and can’t wait for more to come!:)

(Hannah Greenberg, Teaneck, NJ)

Welcome to NCSY GIVE WEST 2018! Can you believe it?! It’s here! All of the NCSY GIVE WEST planes landed safely today at Phoenix International Airport and the summer is finally underway. Once all of the NCSYers were shuttled to the GreenTree Inn in Phoenix, we were greeted with a delicious lunch and Human Bingo Ice-Breaker! Learning about each other was fun and easy in this interactive game. We then had free time in the afternoon getting to know each other, chilling around the hotel, and unpacking our things. We joined back together for GIVE WEST Speed Dating, Orientation, Summer SWAG, and a yummy dinner. After dinner, we enjoyed a fun and meaningful night activity. We ended the night early giving everyone time to unpack and rest up for our exciting day tomorrow filled with chesed and fun in the Phoenix sun. A big thank you to Gavriela & Yishai Steinmetz for the scrumptious food today and to all of our amazing NCSY GIVE WEST advisors and staff for their enthusiasm and help. We cannot wait for Day #2 on the BEST. SUMMER. EVER!