[Written by Avigayil Roffe, Hewlett, New York]
After davening, breakfast and an informative, political speech from Dr. David Luchins, we broke up into two groups and headed to our respective chesed activities. I was really nervous when we first walked into Midnight Mission because Skid Row is the second largest homeless community, but then I walked in and all the people were happy and proud of the work they were doing. It was clean and sanitary, not run down and gross. They gave us a tour of the facilities. Showing us the classrooms, mini-hospital, offering them opportunities to help them, and REALLY help them. We served the food to the homeless and helped clean up afterward. I liked how it wasn’t only serving food, they have all different facilities to help these people get their lives together, basketball, yoga, teams, concerts, really doing the extras in addition to the necessities.
[Written by Meira Entin, Miami, Florida]
Today a group of us were privileged to visit the Garden Palms Nursing Home. We pulled up to the building, walked in, split up, and began to meet our new friends. We each spoke to different elderly men and women and shared our experiences. Through talking and hanging out with the residents we all brought smiles and happiness to the residents day, which in turn made us super happy. Aside from just talking to the residents many of them shared inspiring life stories and advice with us. We were even fortunate enough to hear from some Holocaust survivors and get some inspiration from their faith and connection. After an amazing morning spent in the nursing home, we said goodbye to our newfound friends and headed to the bus where we each were able to share our experiences with the rest of the group. Thank you GIVE WEST for an amazing morning!!
[Written by Sarah Hanian, Edison, New Jersey]
After a refreshing afternoon in a neighborhood pool, we came back to AJU to shower, change, and daven Mincha. We then went out to Shnitzely, in Pico, for dinner. After we ate we were able to walk around and most of us went to Munchies, an amazing candy store in the area. After dinner, we came back to AJU and we began our preparation for tomorrow’s carnival at Camp Etta Israel. We made bright and colorful posters relating to our carnival booths. Soon after, Rabbi Katz gave a very informative Shiur on how to protect your and others privacy through social media. We discussed the Halachic and emotional aspects concerning the issues that come up while using social media and learning the right way to use social media to maintain your own privacy as well as others. We can’t wait for another fun-filled day tomorrow!