Yesterday, GIVE WEST had a blast spending the day at Six Flags Magic Mountain! They enjoyed all the roller coasters, games, and ice cream! They came back exhausted, but there was still more left to our day! We welcomed Mr. Marty Nachimson, the president of the OU to share a few words with GIVE WEST, and then enjoyed a delicious dinner from LA Burger Bar. We also welcomed Dr. and Mrs. Luchins, for the night, and also Reva Jacoby and Zisse Hanfling for the weekend! We were privileged to hear from Dr. Luchins, the founding dean of Lander College for Women, about the upcoming presidential elections. Then, we were off to an amazing GIVE WEST Movie night, featuring the Parent Trap! What a fun day!

Today was another packed day on GIVE WEST, starting off with amazing chaburas given by our advisors, and then heading over to do the Hollywood Sign HIKE! Everyone was amazed by the gorgeous view of the surrounding mountains, and they enjoyed taking beautiful pictures with the Hollywood sign in the background. After, we went to the California Hospital Medical Center to help with some “behind the scenes” activities. Rodeo Drive was our next stop! The girls enjoyed walking around and buying some coffee! After a dinner at Chick N Chow sponsored by Touro College, we went to Comedy Sportz Club and shared many laughs! Then we headed back to AJU to prepare for the carnival we will be running tomorrow for Camp Etta Israel! We cannot wait!

We started our day with a trip to one of Los Angeles’s newest state parks and volunteered at the LA Audobon. We climbed to a beautiful overlook of LA on a nature walk around the park. We learnt about the environmental challenges facing this region and we saw how the organization is working to combat these issues. Then we put our knowledge to the test and helped plant new plants in the park to help the cause. After lunch and chabura in the scenic overlook, we headed to Hollywood’s famous “Walk of Fame” to take pictures with our favorite “stars.” Then the group split up into two chesed missions. The first went to the Zimmer Children’s Museum to assist them with their work serving the children of LA. The second group went to Downtown LA where they greeted and served 445 homeless med and women of Skid Row at The Midnight Mission. We left all of the chesed activities today with a sense of inspiration and gratitude for all that we have. The two groups will switch next week so each GIVE WESTer has a chance to experience these impactful chesed missions. We then met up for mincha and a yummy Israeli dinner at Nagila’s Grill in Pico. After our bellies were full we were filled with the light of Torah when we got the chance to hear beautiful words from Rabbi Areyh Sufrin, principal of YULA Boys High School, about how to find true happiness. We ended this jam packed day with a visit to the famous LACMA Lights exhibit which is a famous tourist attraction and movie featured set. After such a great day we returned to AJU for some well deserved rest. We can’t for even More Fun tomorrow at Six Flags!!!

Our first full day in sunny Los Angeles was filled with exciting Chesed projects. When we got dressed this morning, each GIVE WESTER wore pink to participate in a Bus organized “Pretty in Pink” day. Our Pink shirts in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness popped everywhere we went as we raise awareness for this cause. We started the morning on the Redondo beach helping Green Friends clean the shores of the Pacific Ocean of garbage and waste which pollute the oceans and kill the wildlife. After the cleanup, we had some fun downtime on the beach before departing on a drive through Beverly Hills. We made a quick pit stop at 7 Eleven to get our free slurpies in honor of it being 7/11! Our next stop was at UCP Wheels for Humanity where we learned about the work they do collecting and refurbishing wheel chairs and other tools used to mobilize the disabled. There, we helped organize and clean newly donated wheel chairs, while being deeply inspired by the work they do there. After a long day of giving back we made our way to a yummy sushi supper in the heart of LA! We returned to the beautiful campus at AJU and spent some time playing ball and relaxing before heading in for a fun Spa night. We raised money for Sharsheret, an organization which helps and supports breast cancer, by donating money in exchange for manicures and facials from our advisors. We ended off the night celebrating our own Adira Kahn’s birthday with a delicious Ben & Jerry’s ice cream party! Can’t wait for Day 8!!

We had an awesome day today traveling from Arizona to California. Even though the bus ride was long, we did make sure to stop at the best place ever…WALMART! Once we arrived in LA and settled in at AJU, our home for the next 12 days, we headed out for dinner to Pizza World. The girls enjoyed a great dinner and then we were off to the famous Santa Monica pier! Although we did not see anyone famous, we still enjoyed making some fun of our own. The girls enjoyed all the fun rides and obviously the coffee bean that was located there. We introduced a fun word game of “assassins” to help the girls continue to get to know each other. After a long and tiring day, we arrived back at AJU and are looking forward to what the next day brings.

What a fun couple of days we’ve had here on the West Coast. On Friday we began our day with an inspiring davening, yummy breakfast, and then headed over to our chessed activity. We split into 5 groups and went to various Benevilla facilities to help adults with different developmental and intellectual disabilities. The GIVE WESTers were so helpful and full of energy when exercising and doing projects with the members. We’re so proud of them!! Next, we headed to Big Surf Water Park. It was tons of fun and a great way to cool down from the intense heat here in AZ. The girls enjoyed all the water slides, swimming in the wave pool, and eating ice cream.

The girls couldn’t wait to begin our first Shabbos on GIVE WEST!! After taking pre-Shabbos pictures, we ushered in Shabbos with a beautiful Kabbalat Shabbat all together. We then ate a delicious dinner, sang zemirot, and heard a wonderful dvar Torah from Gabi Miller. We were privileged to have Rabbi Katz, director of MMY, join us for Shabbos leading a question answer session following the meal. The girls asked thoughtful, deep, and insightful questions and they really enjoyed hearing answers from Rabbi Katz. After the question answer session we had a beautiful tisch with singing and yummy snacks!! On Shabbos morning, the GIVE WESTers davened, and listened to a parsha shiur from Rabbi Katz about Korach’s leadership and the Torah’s view on democracy and government. We then had a quick kiddush leading to a session about the theme of Shabbos which was knowing yourself and knowing what makes you you. At lunch we sang more songs, ate yummy food thanks to Daniella and Issac, and heard a beautiful dvar Torah from Tamar Hershberg. After lunch we played a big GIVE WEST game of fruit salad. Then we had free time to hang with friends and play games and eat snacks. The girls all came back from free time to a shuir by Rabbi Katz about how to view our relationship with Hashem. After a yummy shalosh seudos we ebbed Shabbos always and heard an inspiring dvar Torah from Adira Kahn. Then Isaac sang havdala beautifully. For night activity we had chabura wars!!! Each chabura group competed in different challenges leading into a chagiga with noodles, ice cream and lots of dancing!!

Our third day on GIVE WEST was a blast! First stop: Grand Canyon! The ride was long, but we kept the fun rolling with snacks, movies, learning, and GIVE WEST cheering. When we arrived at the Grand Canyon, we were greeted by five amazing guides who took us on a hike around the Southern Rim of the canyon. We learned all about the site as we explored: length, depth, rock formation, wildlife, and more. How crazy to be staring in person at one of the Seven Wonders of the World?! The views were like a postcard and we captured lots of breathtaking photos. Before leaving, we gathered together one last time around the stunning canyon and recited the bracha “oseh maaseh bereishit”, recognizing the G-dliness in the nature around us. On our way back to the hotel, we all enjoyed bonding with one another, singing, and dancing. The GIVE WEST “travelling beit midrash” was introduced on the bus, which provides us with an opportunity to constantly learn Torah on the go! We closed off the night with mincha, dinner, and competitive and exciting night activity of Panapoly, led by programming coordinator Shayna Rabin, with help from our amazing advisors. After night activity, there was an optional shiur given by Rabbi David Katz (Director of MMY Seminary in Israel), which many of the NCSYers took advantage of. Thank you Rabbi Katz for coming to spend time with us on GIVE WEST. What a day! We can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings on GIVE WEST 2016.

We are zonked and still all smiles after an AMAZING second day on GIVE WEST! After davening, singing a special Hallel, and eating a yummy breakfast, we headed out for our first West Coast adventure. We started off our day with our very first chessed on GIVE WEST- volunteering at the Children’s Museum of Phoenix. All the GIVE WESTERs were enthusiastic whether they were sorting books, cleaning blocks, or color dying rice! Then, we split up into our “chabura” groups to have our first learning session with advisors, followed by a delicious pizza lunch. The girls enjoyed stopping at Starbucks on our way to the St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance where they worked hard packaging 1,080 boxes of food for those who are food insecure, and for the elderly. Everyone would agree that it was extremely rewarding to see how many boxes we completed in just 2 hours! The GIVE WESTERs enjoyed competing in a Walmart Challenge of who can send in the most creative red, white, and blue picture, while they shopped for whatever they needed! Back on the bus, the staff introduced a GIVE WEST tradition of learning a section of a sefer all together every day. This year we will be learning Positive Word Power, promoting sensitivity with words, and awareness of the impact our words can have on other people. GIVE WEST then enjoyed watching the Arizona Diamondbacks play the San Diego Padres in Chase Stadium, where three of the GIVE WESTERS caught the free t-shirts! Woohoo! We ended our day with an incredible night swim that was filled with games, snacks, and lots of bonding! Can’t wait for what Day 3 will bring!

Welcome to NCSY GIVE WEST 2016!
Can you believe it?! It’s here! All of the NCSY GIVE West planes landed safely today into Phoenix International Airport and the summer is finally underway. Once all of the NCSYers were shuttled to the GreenTree Inn & Suites 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 GIVE WEST Orientation followed by free time in the afternoon getting to know each other, swimming in the pool, chilling around the hotel, and unpacking our things. We joined back together for a yummy dinner! Following dinner, we played an amazing game of NCSY GIVE WEST Speed Dating to get to know one another even better, and then wrote letters to our future selves! We ended the night early giving everyone time to unpack and rest up for our exciting day tomorrow filled with chessed and fun. A big thank you to Daniella and Isaac Kleinman for the yummy food today and to all of our amazing NCSY GIVE WEST advisors and staff for their passion and help. We cannot wait for day #2!

For a taste of the fun today, here is the grammin that the GIVE WEST staff performed at tonight’s night activity!

Welcome NCSYers to GIVE WEST 16,
This is sure to be the best summer NCSY has ever seen,
Across the west coast we will travel and give,
To everyone in need so in happiness they can live!

In Phoenix, Arizona we start our road trip,
Heading to the Grand Canyon we will be careful not to slip,
Water parks, hikes, and a Shabbos as one,
With this heat on Sunday to LA we will run!

Los Angeles, California, will be our second stop on the tour,
Seeing the Hollywood stars will not be a bore,
In LA we will give to Jews and non-Jews alike,
And for the first time ever we will attempt the Hollywood Sign Hike!

For one day we will travel to a special place to me,
San Diego is its name, my home town is this city,
I will show you the sights, beaches, and my home,
On San Diego ground I can’t wait to roam!

Back in LA tons of Chesed we will do,
Learning in Chabburah will help us get through,
Bonding through giving will make us unite,
We will be brighter than the Hollywood stars who shine so bright!

Off to Sacramento our bus will move on,
For Shabbos and a fast day which will quickly be gone,
Then to San Francisco to ride the red ferry,
And walk the Golden Gate Bridge and taste every Jelly Belly!

In Portland we will end with white water rafting and more,
Berry picking and hiking we will surely soar,
Ending with a banquet that is so so sweet,
But let’s not jump ahead it’s only the first week!

Get ready GIVE WEST the summer has finally arrived,
With everything planned, no detailed compromised,
We will give back to America no matter the weather,
And together we will have the BEST SUMMER EVER!!!