Summer 2015

Say goodbye to Arizona and a big hello to sunny California! We made it! After six hours riding on the bus and a WalMart stop in Indio, we arrived at last at AJU campus in LA which will be our home base for the next 10 days. We dropped our bags and headed outside for the second day of chabura learning. Decked out in blue and white and, of course, our NCSY GIVE WEST baseball caps, next we loaded the bus for Dodger Stadium for an awesome Dodgers vs Phillies baseball game. We cheered and chilled until the final inning and were pleased when the Dodger’s won! After a long day of traveling and an exciting night out, all of our girls are ready to hit the sack, but we can’t wait to see what else LA has for us in store.

Day #3 was very exciting as it marked the very first chessed trip of the summer! We are all about “GIVE”ing here and it was amazing to finally put all of that passion into action. Our group split in half to help out two different organizations that service the needy. One group of girls shined bright in chessed at the Tumbleweed Donation Center. They sorted, sized, bagged, and cleaned clothing, school supplies, toiletries, and shoes for the needy youth of Arizona. The other group volunteered at Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS), a homeless shelter for families, especially those with very young children. The girls got an inside tour of the site, met some of the children who live there, and spent time sorting and folding clothing donations. Additionally, our girls helped flip an apartment in preparation for an incoming homeless family. Spraying, scrubbing, lifting, and maneuvering . . . our girls transformed the space and left it sparkling to welcome in its new residents. Following our chessed, we headed straight for Big Surf Arizona water park. We had a blast on the tubes, in the wave pool, sliding down huge slides, eating ice cream, and chilling out in the sun together. A day of water fun was definitely appreciated in this crazy Phoenix heat! When we got back to the hotel, we had dinner and our first session of chaburas. The sound of Torah learning heard throughout the hotel was so beautiful! Finally, the GIVE WESTers’ spirit, speed, smarts, and spunk were put to the test as we ended the day with an unbelievable game of Panoply!

We are zonked and still all smiles after an AMAZING second day on GIVE WEST! After davening and breakfast, we headed out for our first West Coast adventure. Upon boarding the bus, we finally met Carlos Rios, our bus driver who will be with us for the entire summer.

First stop: Grand Canyon! The ride was long, but we kept the fun rolling with “Story Time”, snacks, and GIVE WEST cheering. While riding, we also introduced a new daily learning initiative in the spirit of the Three Weeks. Each day, a staff member will lead us in reading a passage from the book Chofetz Chaim: A Lesson A Day about guarding our tongues and demonstrating Ahavat Yisrael. 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 the way back to the hotel, we made a quick shopping stop at WalMart and davened mincha outside as the sun set before us. What a day! We closed off the night with dinner, a spark of Torah from director Leah Moskovich, and a hilarious and competitive night activity of “Minute to Win It” led by programming coordinator Sarah Lederer with help from our amazing advisors.

What a day! We can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings on GIVE WEST 2015.

Time to meet your GIVE WEST assistant director Leora Balk! Leora was born and raised in Cincinnati, OH. After attending high school in her hometown, she spent a year in Israel at Michlalah and then returned to the States to study Jewish Education as a member of the Legacy Heritage program at Stern College for Women. Now that she has graduated, Leora will be working at SKA High School for Girls teaching Tanach and assisting in student activities while working on her Master’s at Azrieli School of Jewish Education and Administration. Leora has worked within Central East NCSY for three incredible years, two as an advisor and, this past year, flying back and forth from New York as city director of Cincy NCSY. She spent many great summers in camp growing up, but her most unforgettable were definitely the two spent on NCSY Michlelet! After two summers working as a counselor at Camp HASC, Leora decided to return last summer to the wonderful world of NCSY Summer programs as an advisor on TJJ. Leora is so excited to be joining the GIVE WEST 2015 team and looks forward to a most incredible summer with all of you!

Hello from your program director, the one and only Leah Moskovich! Leah was born and raised in Westchester NY. She went to Central High School, MMY in Israel, Stern College, and then Azrieli Graduate School of Education. She is currently studying in the Azrieli Doctoral Program. Leah has spent twelve summers as camper, staff, and head staff in Camp Morasha. She was a chapter advisor for Westchester NCSY in 2013 and a madricha, Shana Bet madricha, and head madricha on NCSY’s Michlelet across four summers. This summer will be Leah’s second summer running GIVE WEST and she is so pumped! During the year, Leah teaches Tanach and works in Student Activities in Central High School. Fun facts to know about Leah: she is always up for a game of Wa, a large iced coffee, or a chavrusa. Leah has a passion for singing, tennis, and anything water-related . . . get ready for rafting with her! She is ready for the summer of a lifetime with the new GIVE WEST family. Let the fun begin!

Welcome to NCSY GIVE WEST 2015!

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 Country Suites Inn Hotel 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 enjoyed 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 GIVE WEST Orientation, letter writing exercise, and a yummy dinner from Imperial Diner. Following dinner, we played an amazing game of NCSY GIVE WEST Speed Dating to get to know one another even better. We ended the night early giving everyone time to unpack and rest up for our exciting day tomorrow at the Grand Canyon! A big thank you to Yaakov & Talia Borenstein 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!

Gavriela Colton is originally from Manhattan and now lives in Teaneck, NJ. She attended Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls, spent a year in Eretz Yisrael at MMY, and is currently a junior at Stern College for Women. She loves Brooklyn NCSY where she served as an advisor this past year. Gavriela is known for her love of sports and tons of energy! She cannot wait to have a crazy, unbelievable time and party it up with all of the GIVE WESTers coming this summer!

Get ready to meet awesome GIVE WEST advisor Dani Samet! Dani is from New Rochelle, NY and has loved serving as a chapter advisor for the past two years in Westchester NCSY. She attended Central for high school, followed by a year in Israel at Tiferet. Dani currently attends Queens College where she studies speech pathology. A fun fact all should know about Dani is that she has had bangs since kindergarten. She cannot wait to explore the West Coast this summer with the most amazing bus of girls and looks forward to meeting all of you so soon!

Hello from Sarah Lederer! Sarah lives in Bergenfield, NJ. She is a senior at Lander College for Women majoring in Psychology. This summer will be Sarah’s second on GIVE WEST and she is as pumped as can be! In addition to serving on our incredible advisor team, Sarah is our GIVE WEST programming coordinator. She has been busy planning awesome night activities and Shabbos programming that she cannot wait to share with the GIVE WESters so soon! In her free time, Sarah likes spending time with her family, playing sports, lifeguarding, participating in Friendship Circle (go chessed!) and learning or teaching Torah. Because she loves camp, summer is definitely her favorite time of year. As a camper, Sarah spent some of her most inspiring and fun summers on NCSY SEG for two summers and NCSY Michlelet for one summer. She feels the impacts of her NCSY Summer experience even up until today. Ever since, she has wanted to give back as an advisor on an NCSY Summer program and she feels so fortunate to get to spend a second summer staffing GIVE WEST. She is excited to bond and have a blast with all of the incoming GIVE WESTers. She hopes you are getting ready for the most inspiring, meaningful, super fun, BEST. SUMMER. EVER.

Get ready to meet advisor Shayna Rabin! Shayna is from Plainview, NY and went to Central for high school. She took a year off in 10th grade to spend a year in Israel on the Naale Elite Academy High School exchange program. During that year, she had the unique opportunity to live amongst Israeli peers and take classes with them in Hebrew. The year was full of growth, lots of learning, and new experiences. After high school, Shayna spent a year and a half learning in Jerusalem in MMY. She is currently studying Psychology in Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women. In the past, she has worked at Camp Moshava IO as a member of the Beit Midrash and as a counselor. She cannot wait for a new experience of fun and learning on GIVE WEST!