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NCSY GIVE WEST: Day 12

giveusa July 11, 2017

[Written by Avigayil Greenberg, Hollywood, FL]
This morning on GIVE WEST we woke up to our daily Shacharit around the tree. Davening here always feels extra meaningful because of our beautiful setting and unity. After breakfast and chabburah, lead by our amazing advisors, we boarded the busses and headed for the LA Food Bank. When we first entered the food bank, we were greeted by the staff who instructed us on how to sort the food and package it for distribution. They kept repeating that we should throw away the food if it wasn’t something we wouldn’t eat at home, which is something I really liked. What I learned from today while sorting through the food, looking at the expiration dates and examining the overall quality of the merchandise, I love this aspect of what the food bank does, because I believe that even though they are homeless, they are still people and they deserve the best food just like we do. This organization is unique because they really care a lot about what they are giving out and they treat the needy just like any of us, just because they are poor, doesn’t mean they deserve expired food that could make them sick. After the meaningful chesed experience, we headed for a fun outing at The Grove, a popular outdoor shopping area in LA. We were all given the opportunity to split up and have some free time exploring. I made my necessary stop at Coffee Bean and then went with some friends on a cute trolley around the mall, on the trolley, we saw all the shops and people. The shoppers also enjoyed the outing, lots of people came back with cute new clothes.

[Written by Michal Feder, Teaneck, NJ]
After The Grove, we headed to the Museum of Tolerance. This museum focuses on making sure that the Holocaust is remembered and never forgotten. The tour guide gave us a card that had information about a child that went through the Holocaust. Throughout the tour, there were different stops for us to learn about the child on the card, at the last stop we found out if they survived the Holocaust. It was powerful to see and learn about how people my age had to go through such terrible times during their life. After the museum, we went to Dockweiler Beach, where we were able to hang out, and when the sun set, we had a bonfire and Kumzitz. During the Kumzitz, we sang songs, and the advisors told us inspirational stories that happened throughout their lives. I found tonight very inspirational because leading into Shiva Asar B’Tammuz, it was important to hear about Sinat Chinam and Ahavas Chinam. I am looking forward to a meaningful fast day together.