J-Serve Helps Teens Help Israel, Atlanta
By Aaron Gordon
I am privileged to be a part of the J-Serve Atlanta task force for the second consecutive year. I have gained so much out of my experiences planning this day of community service, which is on Sunday, March 6.
Our group of 15 teens has coordinated a fun day for teens to give back to the community. Meetings started in October to give us plenty of time to plan.
Thinking about projects for J-Serve, I immediately had a thought: Plan projects related to Israel.
Israel is a central part of Judaism and the Jewish people, making it applicable to a Jewish day of community service. I contacted StandWithUs, and together with Hadassah we have planned CPR training and a workshop on modern technology in Israel.
Teens attending this project will learn about the amazing technologies that the small state of Israel has developed that are used around the world. Participants will also learn the Jewish principle of pikuach nefesh — saving a life by learning to perform CPR. The teens participating in this workshop will walk out CPR-certified.
Another Israel-related project came to me. I feel that education about the state of Israel is so important to be a knowledgeable advocate of Israel. I thus decided to take on the task of planning an Israel advocacy training and fair, where teens will walk out with a much better understanding of Israel and how to be its best advocates.
I am excited to have many renowned organizations participating in the fair, including StandWithUs, Jerusalem U, Jewish National Fund, Alexander Muss High School in Israel and the American Jewish Committee. Teens will participate in service projects at the various booths.
There are 11 service projects this year, including helping the hungry at Action Ministries, hosting a party for special needs adults at enAble of Georgia and working on the BeltLine with Trees Atlanta. To find a full list of projects and to register, go to atlantajcc.org/jserve. Spaces are filling up quickly.
I hope you will join me at J-Serve to help make the change you want to see in the world.
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