Area Jewish Teens Make a Difference at Teen Day of Social Action 2007

On Sunday, March 25, approximately forty Jewish teens gathered to help the needy at the second annual Jewish Teen Day of Social Action, a joint project of Coalition for Jewish Learning and Tikkun Ha-Ir of Milwaukee.

The day began at the Kosher Meat Klub warehouse, where teens gathered to pack Passover food to distribute to Milwaukee’s poor Jewish families. As teens arrived, they were greeted by a long line of people—most of them elderly Russian immigrants—who were waiting in the fog to receive packages of kosher chicken and other Passover staples.  The teens quickly went to work, forming themselves into an assembly line in order to put together the food packages. About 300 people came to pick up food for Passover, and leftover packages were distributed to needy homes as well.

But the day did not end there.  The teens stopped for lunch at Lake Park Synagogue and then split into groups to travel to various social agencies around the city.  Teens could chose from several locations, depending on their interests. Volunteers who liked to work with children went to the La Causa Emergency Nursery, a shelter with social services and programs for families.  Others went to the Guest House, an emergency men’s shelter that offers meals, counseling and free classes.  There they worked in the kitchen and helped sort food.  At Meta House, the teens ran a treasure hunt and made collages to hang up in people’s apartments.  At Pathfinders, they joined the clientele in making a peace banner.

Teens later returned to Lake Park Synagogue to discuss the events of the day.  It was clear that they felt both gratified and challenged.   Many said, “The helping just felt good!” and  “It was fun to see children smile.”  Some teens were surprised to find the children they met at the various agencies to be so strong and resilient.  Others found knowing that they could make a difference just be being there and being friendly to be the biggest lesson of the day.  They were truly surprised at how little they had to do to make an impact.

Coalition for Jewish Learning and Tikkun Ha-Ir of Milwaukee would like to thank all the teen volunteers, adult mentors and agencies who helped make this day so meaningful.

View Kipp Friedman’s photos of this event.

 Read Riverside High School senior Chana Ellman’s article about Teen Day of Social Action 2007 in JVIBE Magazine.

See Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle coverage of Teen Day of Social Action.