06/25/2014
Meet Barbie
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When we met Barbie, she was soaking wet and standing in a cemetery. She didn’t know anyone buried there but she knew that cleaning up the 123-year-old Jewish cemetery with fellow Clevelanders was a teaching moment for her young daughter, who had recently lost a loved one to cancer. Barbie was crying when she told us, “It’s just heartbreaking,” she said. “And, I want to do something positive to help my five-year-old manage her feelings about death.” So they packed up their rakes and shovels and joined our Cleveland community’s Jewish Volunteer Network (JVN) for a cemetery cleanup. “I want my daughter to know that we can care for people even after they are gone,” said Barbie. “Cleaning up the cemetery is an education in caring for those who came before us and understanding that others will come after us, too.”
