04/22/2015
J-Serve Teens Help in the Community
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J-Serve is the international day of Jewish service where teens from around the world get together within their communities to perform service acts of repairing the world, or Tikkun Olam. J-Serve is a product of the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland where the Teen Council, a group comprised of teen leaders from varying Jewish youth organizations, and the Youth Professionals Network, a group of Jewish youth professionals, come together to create engaging and meaningful service projects throughout the service period.
JVN arranged for J-Serve teens to spend the past Sunday afternoon engaging with children at the Garden Valley Neighborhood House.
Here's a note from their advisor
I had the pleasure of organizing and running a J-Serve event at the Garden Valley Neighborhood House, this past Sunday. The center, located in one of the worst neighborhoods in Cleveland, provides support for families and children in the area. On Sunday, Brian Innenberg, seven teens, and I had the most incredible experience volunteering at the center and playing games with children ages 5-14. The focus of this event was not solely Tikkun Olam, but the need for teens to really feel connected with the people we serve. With that goal in mind, we played a web game that showed how similar we all are and how we are all connected (pictures attached). This program was incredibly motivating for the kids at the center, as I was told by the director, but I think our teens were the ones who were truly serviced. The teens could not stop talking about the experience on the bus ride home and several have already reached out to me asking for a chance to volunteer at the neighborhood house again. Thank you to DL, Matt, and Jeffrey for such a great opportunity!
Chana Levine/Hannah Lebovits
Educational Director, Cleveland NCSY
