Reflections by Hillel at Binghamton

Update to Parents

Posted by: Rabbi Shalom Kantor on Sunday, March 27, 2011 at 9:22:07 am | Comments (0)

It has been an amazing week from the hours of service that we preformed in the morning recreating the Northwest Boys and Girls Club with paint, new benches, murals, tables to the special afternoons we spent with the children of the Kendall Boys and Girls club in the afternoon. Each and every student on this trip made such a difference and added immeasurable amounts to our community. We ended the week with a beautiful Shabbat with some much needed and deserved relaxation and reflection on all that we had accomplished.

As our students return home we asked them all to make some sort of commitment to continuing some of the work or incorporating the lessons of the week into their lives and their insights into how they wanted to do this were beautiful and moving.

I (Rabbi Shalom) look forward to many more adventures with our students as we continue to build our own community, our connection to our heritage, and work together to make the world a better place for all of humanity.

We will be up loading pictures to our web site within the next week and hope you will check back to see the actual work that we all did.

Until then blessings and L'chaim

Rabbi Shalom Kantor

Our Last Day

Posted by: Michael Weinberg on Tuesday, April 5, 2011 at 8:48:16 pm

Yesterday was our last day working with the kids at the Boys and Girls Club in Coral Gables, and honestly even though we are going to the beach today, I would rather go back to the Boys and Girls Club and work with the kids I’ve interacted with. No one wanted to leave, and everyone I talked to agreed they wanted to come back. Probably the hardest part was saying goodbye to the kids that I didn’t have time to help that day that I helped in the past few days, since I was with other kids that I had been helping; as I was leaving, a kid I worked with the day before named Sebastian looked at me and asked me if I could help, and I had to say I was leaving. This was like a recurring theme for me; each day before we left, groups of kids would come up to me and ask for help with all their work, and when each day I had to leave knowing that there were dozens of kids that I could easily help with just a few more minutes, I would pretty much wait until the last minute to go outside to the debriefing.

A few things I really liked: the smiles on my kids’ faces when they figured something out on their own or when I taught them tricks to make homework go faster, when Caroline told me she wanted to run an animal shelter and work at the Vet’s office when she grows up, when Daniel (a kid) beat Daniel (an adult) in pool, and when I saw much of the completed work we’ve done. Some of my kids live lives of relative privilege, however not all of them do, and in both cases, I feel I can make a difference in their futures by sharing insight and experience from my life, as well as helping them understand the relevance of their homework. But for now, it’s 86 degrees outside, and I have no choice but go to the beach; I suppose I could stand to hang out in Miami beach for a few hours!

Day 3: Reading with kids

Posted by: Nicole Richards on Tuesday, April 5, 2011 at 8:55:03 pm

Today was our third day of service and our second day working with the children at the Kline Boys and Girl’s club. While I was excited to continue my service work, I couldn’t help feeling very uneasy walking into the club. On Tuesday I’d been paired with a seven year old named Gabriel. My first impression of him was that he is a sweet faced young blonde with a bit of a trouble-making streak in him. However, as the afternoon progressed, I realized that of all the children I’d interacted with, this child closest fit the definition of “at risk youth.” He spoke of fights and other things that are highly inappropriate for a seven year old. His way of showing off to his friends was by insulting them. It was pretty clear that his ideas of fun will warp towards drugs and fighting as he gets older. Today I learned that he is a year behind in school because, as he nonchalantly told me, “I get bad grades”. Additionally, he “loves violence.”

Most troubling was the way he sensed that adults do not have a lot of confidence in his abilities. I think he has just as much potential as any other child there.

I left today feeling even more mixed then I had the day before. When reading with Gabriel, I found myself getting frustrated with his lack of enthusiasm to the point where I couldn’t help but wish that I could just read the story to him. This thought, and deciding to work against that thought, reminded me why I am here, on this trip, in the first place. Other adults have not been giving Gabriel a chance, and probably would have given up and read him the rest of the story in order to get it over with. But I know what it’s like to have the academic adults looking down on you; it’s an awful feeling. I believe in Gabriel’s potential, and I also believe he does not believe in his own potential, and I refuse to be yet another adult letting him give up on himself.

Reflections looking back

Posted by: Jeff Steinberg on Sunday, March 27, 2011 at 9:19:28 am

Over the past few days I have had the opportunity to spend time with a young boy at the Boys and Girls Club of Miami. A typical visit has consisted of reading with him, playing games, and generally trying to learn more about his origin. Even though I shared three afternoons with him, it still was not enough to reach out to him in a way I had hoped.

Today, however, I read a book to him that related very well to this entire trip as a whole. The story was about an impoverished fisherman who had saved a fish, who had in turn granted him a wish. The fisherman asked the fish to provide him with a bigger house. Ultimately, the wish was granted, but the fisherman was not pleased, as he asked the fish to keep improving his lifestyle. A few wishes later, the fisherman had a large enough house and plenty of food for him and others, but could not become satisfied. Eventually, the fish became so insulted that he took everything away from the fisherman, even the worn down hut he had originally lived in. The fisherman realized that after all of that, he just wanted his old lifestyle back.

Basically, this story reminds me of our society today. Many privileged people take what they have for granted and get carried away with materialism. The societal norm, unfortunately, is to always one-up the people around them, whether it’s driving the fanciest car on the block or being the best dressed out of a group of friends. It bothers me that people tend to lose sight of community and selfishly think only about themselves. This book is a great example of someone who wants more without even needing more.

On this trip, I have realized that everything I have is a privilege that I should feel lucky for, while many of these kids at the Club do not have the same opportunities that I had growing up. Instead of being selfish and always asking for luxury items, we should focus more on the necessities. The fact of the matter is, there are underprivileged people in the world, and I bet the homeless out on the street do not appreciate those individuals driving around Mercedes Benz’ while being left coughing in the dust. Even though I feel that I didn’t really impact the boy I had mentored, I feel that I learned so much more than I thought I would through this experience. With privilege comes choices, and it is up to us to decide the right choices.

Day 2: Building our souls and making a difference

Posted by: Alysia Siegel on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 10:57:43 pm

March 22, 2011 – Miami ASB

Today was one of those days that was good for the soul; the kind that just fills you up. We started the morning with some old fashioned manual labor. I really liked what we were doing (stretching canvases) because I had learned how to do that in the painting class I took back in Binghamton, so I felt like I was able to share some of my first hand experience with the rest of the group. I enjoyed the second half of the day even more. We went to another Boys and Girls Club to actually work with kids. I helped a 12 year old boy named Adrian with his homework. At first when one of the teachers assigned me to help him he said, “I don’t know why she thinks I need help. I can do my homework on my own and I don’t need anyone else”. In response to this apparently difficult attitude I said, “I know you can do it but why don’t you explain your homework to me”. In this way I was able to bring him to realize maybe I could help him out a little bit. It felt nice to see him let me in this small way. Adrian seems like one of those kids who are a bit of challenge but only need a little extra time with things for them to come around. He seemed surprised that a bunch of college students from New York would come to spend any amount of time with them. He even said to me, “I wouldn’t do that”. I just tried my best to share some things about myself with him as I was helping him with his spelling and math homework. Maybe I did have some impact on his day as he asked if we were coming back tomorrow and quietly said perhaps he would see me then. I wonder about the impact we will have long term on these kids but I take comfort in the fact that they also will have an impact on us which we will always have. I’m excited for another day like today and I hope I get to work Adrian again in the afternoon so we can continue learning from each other.

Day 1: Welcome to Miami

Posted by: Nathan Shapiro on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 10:56:37 pm

Tonight, we listened to a Faces of Homelessness Panel. We listened to several speakers who had experienced poverty and homelessness and how they were able to recover from these experiences. One of these speakers discussed how she had run away from home as a youth and had never been motivated to succeed in life. She said that if “one person had told her to go to college, she probably would never have gone to jail.” I realized that sometimes all it takes it the words of one person to make a difference in someone’s life. I think that it is this fact that makes my experience here meaningful.

Nathan Shapiro

Day 1: Welcome to Miami

Posted by: Lauren Nevidomsky on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 10:55:51 pm

Monday, March 21, 2011:

The experiences I had today really opened up my eyes. The day before I left on this trip my mom and I dropped hundreds of dollars on shoes. Then, on the way to the airport, I complained to my parents how some people don’t even have $5 on them when we are at school. I never dealt with poverty before this. Today I met with senior citizens who might only be eating one meal a day, a meal that they aren’t even providing for themselves. It’s just a weird experience. I can’t wait to see what situations I will be thrust into next.

Day 1: Welcome to Miami

Posted by: Jacob Schwartz on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 10:50:22 pm

Monday, March 21, 2011:

Our 72 person group walked into a JCS meal for the elderly and began to mingle with the 60+ year olds who were there. Some of them were poor, this being their only meal of the day, but some were not; they were just there for the company. I walked up to a table with three men who were probably in their 70s or 80s. “Do you speak Hebrew?” one of them asked, in hebrew. “A little,” I answered, also in hebrew. He was of medium build with blonde hair and a mustache. He then proceeded to tell a bunch of risqué jokes involving Israeli soldiers and American girls, along with some serious advice about volunteering in Israel. He was funny and charismatic, making my experience at JCS fun and memorable. I got up to serve the food and by the time I was done, the man had left.

Jacob Schwartz

Our Boots Are On Fire!

We learn from the Torah numerous values and guidelines we should live our life by. We are taught especially in Pirkei Avot to acquire yourself a teacher, make for yourself a great friend and judge people favorably. The other day working at the Boys & Girl's club I was blessed to witness all three. Everyday we acquired ourselves a teacher, learning from the students we worked one on one with and from each person on our trip. I am grateful to have spent time with one specific scholar who told me that we were similar than I thought. When I asked him to explain further he pointed to my Israel bracelet and said, "I am Jewish, too. I've been to Israel." My face lit up as the child continued to finish his homework and I was impressed by the connection a young eight year old could make to a faith he perhaps did not practice continuously at home. Although I do not belong to a specific University on this trip, I've made for myself some wonderful friends. This trip brought people together from all over the country forcing people to leave their comfort zones. As the days progress our stereotypes and preconceived notions of the children and ourselves have started to diminish. So as we continue to help improve a small part of Miami, we learn that we cannot do it all. however, there is no better place to being to improve the world than with ourselves.

ASB Miami Thursday March 24, 2011 Kent+ Group :]

Today we continued working at the NW Boys and Girls Club. The Kent Plus group finally got to work outside under the beautiful Miami sun. Some of us painted cubbies and book shelves while others worked on their carpentry skills building benches. Today's work was a clear indicator of the tremendous strides our entire ASB Miami group has made working along side City Year for just three days. It truly staggers the mind when we came to the realization of how much people can accomplish in their charity efforts. Especially when their diligent organization and overwhelming sense of group dedication and motivation is as evident as it is in this group of volunteers.

Later in the day, we spent our last afternoon with the children at the Kline Unit of the Boys and Girls Club. It was a very bittersweet goodbye but many of the volunteers developed meaningful relationships with some of the children. We may even have the opportunity to continue communication through a Pen Pal system! Whether we helped/talked to a kid for 5 minutes or an hour, we truly believe we've made a difference in their lives and each of us has learned something from interacting with every child.

Group discussion for tonight was particularly touching for the people in our group because we talked about privilege and the ladder of charity. We took a survey that evaluated the level of privilege in our lives. We also discussed varying definitions of privilege and how accurate they were for specific contexts in addition to how they can be applied to our everyday lives after this trip. It was a good time for personal reflection about gratitude and realizing how people who are more privileged in life should always pay it forward.

Illini Take on Miami - Day 3 :)

When we were seven years old, we were taught to give Tzedakah, the Jewish value of giving charity. At the time, we may not have fully understood it, maybe even taken it for granted, but every Sunday we would show up at our various religious schools with our change.

As the years went on we learned more and more about ways we can help the world through "tikkun olam" and always connected it to our Jewish roots.

As we find ourselves in a community of fewer resources than many of us are used to, we feel pride in being surrounded by so many amazing people who grew up with the same Jewish values.

Today, as well as the last few days, have been filled with numerous moments, both touching and enlightening. In the mornings, we've been working at the Northwest Boys and Girls Club. We've talked about how it takes a community to raise a child and here we see first-hand a community coming together to makes things better for hundreds of children.

Our group continued a project that a different group had started yesterday. We traced inspirational quotes as well as motivational signs on about 20 canvases. the quotes included, "If there is no struggle, there is no progress" by Frederick Douglass and "Reach for the moon. Even if you miss you'll land amongst the stars."

These quotes will be something that children can look at everyday for years to come and hopefully, can encourage them to continue their love of learning and always keep a positive attitude when it comes to school.

Before dinner, we were fortunate enough to get the opportunity to listen to Rabbi Feldman, a Rabbi from Palm Springs, come to speak to us about how our week relates to Judaism. Among the amazing concepts he spoke to us about, one that stood out to us was the fact that word Hebrew translates to mean the word alternative (as in alternative spring break).

This connected us back to our Jewish values that we learned when we were little and really helped us connect the work we're doing and relive the lesson we've been learning all along -- Tzedakah!

Ashley Abramowicz and Rachel Segal

Hillel at Davis and Sacramento - Reflection from Tuesday, March 22

One of our favorite moments of the day was visiting the Holocaust memorials in Miami. After the physical part of our day was over, before we went out to enjoy our night, we went to see the memorial. It was really moving. Many of the members of the group have been to Holocaust memorials in other parts of the world, but the one in Miami was impacting in a different way. It was a visual representation of the 6 million Jews who perished in ghettos and camps during World War II. The visual representation of the people truly invoked strong emotions. It almost seemed as if the statues were going to move. They were extremely realistic. And to see so many names on the wall was just insane.
The rest of our trip so far has been about creating a positive environment and keeping a good energy and the visiting. So far, we have enjoyed everything, but our favorite part has been working with the children. Getting to actually meet the people in the community that we were working for was motivating and a lot of fun. Even in such a short time, a lot of the kids bonded with the Hillel students.

Miami, Day 1

We started our day by having breakfast as a group downstairs in the hotel. Then we loaded up the buses and went on a forty- minute drive to the Senior Care Program, where we spent the morning with senior citizens. When i say 40 minutes I mean it was supposed to be 40 minutes... But after a medical glitches and quick pit stop at the local family clinic we were finally on our way. Once we got to the Senior Center the students and clients got an instrument and we all introduced ourselves through a name game. A lady who was 104 years old even sang to us. Then we sang karaoke for them including songs like "I Will Survive" which in hindsight may have been a bit off-color for the centogenarians in the audience. We also had time to share our stories with the elderly, despite the language barrier of Spanish and English. Then we went to a local park and ate lunch with a side of tanning! Then we drove to visit an after-school program in Liberty City. There, we heard Alison Austin, the CEO, talk about The Freedom School and the importance of giving back to society and helping the impoverished communities. Then we learned a little "harambee" and the"good job" cheer that we sang with the students. If nothing else, the afternoon offered further proof that white jewish kids got no rhythm but a lot of chutzpah. After a fun afternoon, we got on the bus to University of Miami Hillel and had some excellent Kosher pizza for dinner. We heard stories from the "Faces of the Homeless" program, a branch of AmeriCorps. Three people shared their personal accounts of being homeless and how they rose above it to become strong members of society. Then we separated into our respective schools to reflect on our day and what we thought about poverty, giving back, and volunteering. It was overall an emotional and inspiring day full of fun and laughter!

Aimee Epstein

Pictures!

Reflections

Yesterday we started off the day by going to Nora Sterry Elementary School in inner city Los Angeles. We split up into small groups and began our projects for the week as we tried to better the schools playground area. Within these groups some painted, sandpapered wood, or knocked down an old wood fence. My group, The VanGoughs, started painting the word "Welcome" in many different languages as an entrance mural for the school.
After eating a brief lunch we moved to Palms Elementary School to assist them in their after school program. We enjoyed helping students with their homework, playing outside sports and talking with them and learning about their backgrounds. I connected with a young girl who wanted to play a different game. We got a huge group of students and volunteers together and played a big game of kickball. The students were so enthusiastic about the game and were commenting on how they have never played so long because it was never this fun. They all were so positive and happy to be playing. What I loved was the fact that they all had really great attitudes even though the team I was on was losing badly.
Other volunteers learned things from the elementary school students such as step dance moves and new games. After spending a few hours at the school we went to have another great dinner at Hillel where we had some yummy tacos. We also had a guest speaker who talked about public education in the state of California. We then broke into campus groups and the Michigan State students had a great discussion reflecting on our great experiences so far. We had a great time working with the kids and doing service and we cannot wait to finish our projects and play with the kids more this week!
-Taylor Lederman

Day 3 Reflections

After a night of reflection our team of volunteers came back to the schools with more enthusiasm, lingering questions, and excitement to start another great day of service. We arrived at the work sites determined to integrate our freshly defined knowledge of what kind of impact we’d like to make and better ways to accomplish our goals.
The day began with our now ritual physical training, surplus water, and sunscreen. The biggest obstacle of our day could have easily been the harsh California heat, rising to around 75 degrees. Although, there was some physical and mental exhaustion the team was able to overcome it with positive attitudes, teamwork, and great conversation. Many of us were able to become a little closer to the city year staff and got a really great inside look on the great organization that planned our trip. As we came closer to finishing the second half of our day we finally able to see some finished products of our hard work. It’s only our second day working on our projects, but they already look great and we feel so proud of our hard work.
The afternoon spent with the kids in the after school program gave us a really fun break. Many of the kids remembered our names and faces and couldn’t wait for us to start playing games with them. It’s really exciting to see all of the relationships that have already formed between the kids and the volunteers, but also scary to think of only having one more day together.
As we filled on the bus to head back there was a lot of excitement for the upcoming night in Santa Monica. We all enjoyed shopping, good meals, and some therapeutic beach time. As a group we all had a great time star gazing, feeling the ocean, and getting to know each other better. To wrap the night up, a few of us grabbed some food at IN IN OUT, the most popular fast food chain in Cali, and made aware of the seriousness of Jay- walking. It’s been an amazing time with a nice mix of service and sightseeing, and I look forward to another great day tomorrow.
-Emily Berlin

What's Next?

Terrified…Lost…Enthusiastic…Motivated...These are only a few emotions that can begin to describe how some of us ASB’ers are feeling. This trip has been taken to a whole new level, and it’s safe to say I think some of us are even at a loss of words. As I’m sitting here reflecting upon this overall experience, and our last day with the children at Palms Elementary school, I really am having trouble…It’s difficult to verbalize all of the thoughts and emotions encompassing my brain. I have never, since the day I’ve wanted to be an educator, experienced the emotions I felt yesterday. Some often say that “goodbye” isn’t forever, and with these children I’d like to say it isn’t for me. But as we hugged our kids, turned our backs from names being screamed, and wiped the streaming tears off of our cheek, one can’t help but feel that forever, is forever. I know, along with each and every person on this trip, that the service we have done for these children, and this community the past week, has left an imprint. Some of those kids did not want to say bye to us, and probably couldn’t fathom the fact that we would never be back again. But the question is, what do we do now? We’ve volunteered with these inner-city schools for 4 days, and made a world of a difference. Now, the future is in our hands. We’ve seen how poorly run these schools are, and the lacking beauty of the school’s appearance. From the picnic tables we worked our butts off to create, to the beautiful murals we painted on the walls, these schools have already been transformed. As we sat there on Thursday saying goodbye to the kids, and stood there Friday looking out to all of the beautiful work we created, there were no words. That final day of service almost made me feel like I was hit by a truck; I was lost and confused, yet extremely motivated and FIRED UP! It’s our job as not only future educators, but humans in this world, to create what’s next to come. Together, we need to do something that will make a difference for forever. After all, ASBers, haven’t we learned that together is better than alone?
-Lucy Keller

Final Touches

Today started out just like every other workday of our trip. Unfortunately it was our last day at Nora Sterry elementary school. We started off with PT with our amazing city year crew. We then split up into our work groups and began to finish all of the projects we started at the beginning of the week. My group was fortunate enough to work on the project we started on our first day. We finished putting together the reading benches, re-stained the picnic tables and painted checkerboards onto them for the kids. We then were able to walk around and see all of the amazing projects that we as a group were able to accomplish in such a little amount of time.
Then, during lunch we had a closing ceremony that wrapped up the entire week. City year and Hillel leaders spoke and thanked the entire 100 college students for the work they put in this week. Also, the principal of Nora Sterry spoke to us about how appreciative she, her staff and all of her kids were for what we did to improve their school. We then were apart of the kid’s fire drill towards the end lunch. There, some of the kids came up to the microphone and spoke to us and thank us for the work that we did. It was great to see how their smiles and hear how happy they were that we did this for them.
At the end of the day we headed back to the hotel to get ready for Shabbat. We met up in the lobby of the hotel and headed to Hillel with everyone for services and dinner. We were able to choose between services or discussions that were being held over topics that related to our work this week. During dinner, we were able to meet tons of Jewish students from UCLA and talk to them about our experiences over the past week. After dinner we split up into different groups and had a boundary breaking activity where we learned a lot about other people on the trip. This was a very good way to end the night and close off the week as we entered into Shabbat.
-Jenna Pickman

Slideshow- City Year LA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSIHbZVC69U&feature=player_embedded

Lasting Thoughts

Wow. After going into the week with curbed expectations, having never participated in an Alternative Break trip as a staff member nor a student, I cannot begin to explain what an eye-opening experience our trip to L.A. was. The week was filled with motivational speakers, countless group discussions (probably too many if you were to ask a student), hours of service work in the scorching L.A. sun, and of course, endless amounts of fun.

Our first speaker, Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz, talked about the trip, and asked whether students thought it was a service trip or a learning trip. A majority of students were quick to shout that it was strictly a service trip, but I'm sure if you asked those same students today, their answers would be different.

What is the goal of 4 days of service work in a new environment?
Is the goal to improve the schools and leave a lasting impression on the students we've helped?
Are we doing more harm then help in becoming role models for young kids and then disappearing on a whim?
Is it more beneficial to donate the trips cost to LA schools, which would allow them to afford many more tangible supplies than we created in a weeks worth of time?

These are all questions that we struggled with and discussed throughout the week. Questions that left us overwhelmed, exhausted, inspired, open-minded, and FIRED UP (as the City Year members would say). While I can't speak for anyone but myself, I'd say that after a week of service, it is clear that the service City Year puts together has little to do with the direct effect our work has on the LA community or its students, but to the participants themselves.

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WHEN YOU GET HOME?

The afterschool program we participated in at Palms Elementary, stationed in West LA doesn't seem like such an impoverish neighborhood. But when you hear from their principal, who tells you that 84% of their students families live below the poverty line, and 99% of their students live in apartments, some with more than 6 siblings, it brings everything into perspective. The program we worked with, funded by the city of LA for families that can't afford after-school care, employs ONE WOMAN for 60 STUDENTS. 60!

First grade Brandon, whom I helped with his math homework, and couldn't quite grasp the idea of counting by ones, is an anomaly for inner city students across the country. He told me "the police took away his Mom's car," and has to ride 2 buses to pick him up from school. With over-sized classrooms, 3 hours round-trip travel time to and from school, and no after school homework help, how is Brandon supposed to learn?

For kids like Brandon who may never receive one-on-one attention, the effects of our time at Palms Elementary may be insurmountable. As we stood outside during a fire drill on Friday afternoon, Principal Smith had students come to the microphone and explain which of our projects they were most thankful for. As the kids showed their gratitude one by one, it became more difficult for many that spent their Spring Break doing service to refrain from tears (maybe myself included). It is not only the students that we worked to make a difference for last week, but the idea that their are kids like this no matter what community you live in.

The message that I took from this week is that their is hope, but not without us. A week of service cannot end when we step onto the plane to Detroit, because there are thousands of Brandon's across the country, in every community, of every state. After spending the week with an amazing group of motivating, thought-provoking individuals, privileged with the power to make a difference in the world,it left me with one closing thought that a teacher from an LA Charter School told us earlier in the week, "The happiest people are doing the things they love the most."

Follow what you are most passionate about, whether it's health-care, human rights, or education, and we can all make a difference.

So, what are you going to do next?

-Josh Fishman
MSU Hillel Program Associate

Taking a break to make a difference

Published in The State News on March 13, 2011

For a long time I’ve considered myself a pessimist or cynic — capable of seeing the problems in life and providing negative criticism, but struggling with finding real solutions.

When it comes to educational reform and providing effective education for all public school students in the U.S. — specifically low-income students in poor schools — it’s easy to point out what’s wrong, but difficult to figure out exactly how to fix it.

Even when solutions are proposed, it’s much easier to doubt their effectiveness and question results than actually try them out.

During spring break, I had the opportunity to travel to Los Angeles with MSU Hillel (alongside Hillel groups from other universities across Michigan and the U.S.) to volunteer in low-income elementary schools in a partnership with City Year’s Los Angeles Service Corps and Care Force.

During the program, I was able to get first-hand experience with a few potential solutions to education problems. My pessimistic ideology began to crack.

My fellow volunteers and I spent our mornings working on construction and painting projects to improve and beautify the schools. We spent our afternoons hanging out with at-risk students at another elementary school.

We organized pickup games of soccer, kickball and four square.

We tutored them in math and spelling while giving them someone to talk to as well as encouraged them to believe in both themselves and education.

Group discussions and guest speakers were interspersed throughout the week to keep us thinking about the effectiveness of our work as well as various perspectives on the problems facing American public schools.

A quick glance at the issue of effective public education allows us to conclude there usually isn’t enough money for each student, that their lives at home might be unstable and their parents or social environments are unsupportive of educational achievement.

The solutions to these problems usually either are unrealistic or unproven, and as one of the speakers during our program was keen to point out, there is no “silver bullet” to cure all education ills.

At the beginning of the trip, I doubted our work truly had value. However, the more I interacted with the kids, the more I came to see what I was doing really did have an effect.

The kids at the first school always enthusiastically ran up to us, asking what we were doing. They were excited to have us there, building colorful picnic tables, painting murals on the walls and simply chatting about what was going on in their lives. At our afternoon sessions, things ran deeper than just a kickball game — we came to know and care for the kids in just three days’ time.

After our first day working on the playground, I had met three amazing students whom I couldn’t wait to come back to see the next day.

One wanted to be a veterinarian; one a soccer player and another simply said he wanted to be smart like us.

When our time with them ended each day, they would breathlessly ask us if we were coming back the next day to play and talk again. They loved having us there, and we loved being there.

It was heartbreaking to tell them on our final day that we weren’t coming back. It was in their sadness at seeing us go that I truly understood how much of an effect our short time had on them.

Our brief sessions of individual interaction and encouragement had made some kind of positive impression on these kids and it could be seen in their eyes.

I don’t think this kind of personal investment by well-intentioned volunteers is the one and only solution to solving the issue of underachievement in low-income schools.

But my amazing trip showed me I am very capable of making even the slightest difference if only I am willing to sacrifice some of my time and donate it to helping those who are less fortunate than me.

It was a positive lesson that I will not soon forget.

-Matt Korovesis

Michigan State University

What's next?

Written Friday, March 10, 2011

Terrified…Lost…Enthusiastic…Motivated...These are only a few emotions that can begin to describe how some of us ASB’ers are feeling. This trip has been taken to a whole new level, and it’s safe to say I think some of us are even at a loss of words. As I’m sitting here reflecting upon this overall experience, and our last day with the children at Palms Elementary school, I really am having trouble…It’s difficult to verbalize all of the thoughts and emotions encompassing my brain. I have never, since the day I’ve wanted to be an educator, experienced the emotions I felt yesterday. Some often say that “goodbye” isn’t forever, and with these children I’d like to say it isn’t for me. But as we hugged our kids, turned our backs from names being screamed, and wiped the streaming tears off of our cheek, one can’t help but feel that forever, is forever. I know, along with each and every person on this trip, that the service we have done for these children, and this community the past week, has left an imprint. Some of those kids did not want to say bye to us, and probably couldn’t fathom the fact that we would never be back again. But the question is, what do we do now? We’ve volunteered with these inner-city schools for 4 days, and made a world of a difference. Now, the future is in our hands. We’ve seen how poorly run these schools are, and the lacking beauty of the school’s appearance. From the picnic tables we worked our butts off to create, to the beautiful murals we painted on the walls, these schools have already been transformed. As we sat there on Thursday saying goodbye to the kids, and stood there Friday looking out to all of the beautiful work we created, there were no words. That final day of service almost made me feel like I was hit by a truck; I was lost and confused, yet extremely motivated and FIRED UP! It’s our job as not only future educators, but humans in this world, to create what’s next to come. Together, we need to do something that will make a difference for forever. After all, ASBers, haven’t we learned that together is better than alone?

-Lucy Keller
Grand Valley State University

Alt. Break to Miami - 2011

Thursday, Jan 6

Today was productive and meaningful. Our morning began with a nutritious breakfast, followed by our routine bus ride to Lenora B. Smith Elementary. As the Miami sun beat down on our backs, the eighty-seven of us assembled with our City Year staff members for our daily PT (Physical Training), followed by a group meeting where we receive information and inspiration

Today was our last day working at Lenora B. Smith, so morale was high and faces were determined. Music was energizing the atmosphere, while water was being dispensed frequently. Children walked by smiling as they saw the work that had been accomplished throughout our week here. Hammers banged, paint splashed, spirits soared.

Team Others and Texas was assigned to build potting beds using wood that had been measured and cut by previous groups. Beginning with piles of wood, hammers, and a bucket of nails, we turned these resources into beautiful additions to the garden. Working together proved efficient and fun, strengthening bonds (and muscles!) We were proud to see our finished products as the day ended on a sadder note - saying goodbye to Lenora B. Smith Elementary and our great friends at City Year. We look forward to received pictures and updates from City Year, so that we can follow the progress of the garden.

Last night, we congregated in groups to discuss the ideas of Power and Privilege. We touched upon bigger social issues as well as individual differences which lead to varying degrees of social power. Individual group members incorporated past experiences while relating these ideas to our volunteer work here in Miami.

We will be celebrating Shabbat this evening, and are looking forward to having time to reflect on all of our experiences from the day and from the last week.

Shabbat Shalom everyone!

Kate M. Torpey (NYU '12)
Alex M. Simson (Cornell '12)
Oren R. Lavie (UPenn '11)

Day 3

So today was long but really fun. First some of us used stencils to draw on canvases while others worked in the garden tearing up grass. I worked in the garden and it was really hot outside and at times work was hard, but that made seeing all of our work even more rewarding.

After all of our work the guys played football with some of the kids from the school. Then we all had lunch and played team building games. The first time, we had to make it across a “sea” by only walking on paper towels…we weren't very good at this game, we ended up tearing a paper towel to one of our shoes and hopping across the “sea”. I didn't get a paper towel so my team had to carry me across on their backs.

The second game was “bird on a perch,” and we partnered up and we had to jump on our partner’s backs when the music stopped or we would be out. Both games were really fun and really brought us together even more.

From there we went to an after school program, called the Overtown Youth Center, to help the kids with their homework. The building was really nice; it had a gym, a dance studio, computer room, and flat screen TVs. The kids were all really cute and excited to see us. What I found very interesting was that the program keeps track of their students until they are 25. They help them pick a college and go on college visits with them as well. Even cooler than that, this whole program is free! When I left the after school program I was in such a good mood because I kept picturing the girl's face I helped when she finally understood what I was trying to explain the difference between a native and a narrator and I tried everything I can think of. She finally got it and we were both so excited.

This program is so good for the kids because not all of the parents can help their kids with their homework like they have at this program and the kids are encouraged to continue their education to college where if they didn't come to this program, they wouldn't go to college, or even finish high school. The kids at this program were friendly and funny, one of them asked me if I had a sinus problem and that is why I sound like I do.

From there, we went to dinner (and had Indian food), reflected on or day and listened to a Rabbi’s sermon. His sermon really tied the day together and showed us how what we are doing during the day is really a holy Jewish thing. How the goal of Judaism is to touch lives, and that is what we are trying to do.

My City Year Journey

Students visiting residents at the Miami Jewish Health System

Written by Sydney Gross
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill





At first, I was slightly apprehensive about coming to Miami for the City Year trip because I had no idea what City Year was and the idea of using winter break to relax at home sounded incredible! I came after talking about the trip with Sheila Katz, Hillel staff. She explained that City Year is an organization commited to serving in low-income cities and that this opportunity was not to be missed. We are now in the afternoon of the second full day here, and the lack of regret is overwhelming. This is an amazing experience. We are interacting with others all the time - with our fellow Hillel members from across North America, with local Jews, with local non-Jews, and the feeling that we made a difference at the end of the day is priceless.

Not only have we been volunteering, but we get to hear about the experiences of others directly from them. For instance, last night after dinner three formerly homeless community members each spoke to us about his or her experience being homeless and, more importantly, what led them to it. Kenneth, Angie, and Anita were so honest and open to questions, and the three of them calmly relayed to us countless life experiences which, quite honestly, were beyond imagination for me. After the Faces of Homelessness panel, I became much more aware of how fickle opportunity is and how, had I been put in any of their shoes, I may have died trying to get to where they are now (they almost did.)

This trip is quickly bringing to the forefront the idea that Judaism advocates for helping everybody, not only Jews. We care that others suffer, and we want to hear about it and learn how to fix it. We want to feel some of what others feel, if only for a little bit, in order to understand why we are all different and why that is special and beautiful. Mostly, I am learning that vounteer work may be the most efficient way to teach these values. Volunteering is doing good simply for the sake of doing good. This is the second full day! We'll see what the rest of the week holds.

Greater Miami Jewish Federation, Miami Heart Rehab Center, Belafonte Tacolcy Center, Panel: Faces of Homelessness

The morning started with a trip to the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, where we met with Jeff Levin (Chief Financial Resource Officer) and Michelle Labgold (Chief Planning Officer). We discussed the Jewish community as a whole (one tribe) and Jewish philanthropic work. It is interesting that the money donated to the Jewish Federation is distributed within the Jewish community as well as the around the whole world, regardless of faith.
We continued our day by visiting the Miami HEART Rehabilitation Center. There, we met Rabbi Fred Klein (Director of the Chaplaincy Program at the Greater Miami Jewish Federation) who gave us an overview on what HEART Rehab does for its community. We split up into smaller groups and visited patients that were currently participating in the rehabilitation program there. This was also interesting because us, as strangers, really could see how a simple act of kindness could go a long way and touch a lot of hearts.
After enjoying our lunches at Morningside Park, we went to the Belafonte Tacolcy Center, where we were introduced to Alison Austin (CEO), about her work and the Freedom School fundamentals. We learned about the backgrounds of the children in the area and how the Tacolcy Center, as well as other groups, work to help the community and the children. We were moved to see the amount of energy exerted by the staff to show the local children that learning is fun. It was incredible to meet the children and see their energy. It left us hopeful that in our volunteer experiences, we would be able to excite children and help them learn the way the Tacolcy Center does.
This evening, after dinner we had an incredible experience; something that I think it is safe to say none of us have ever experienced. A group called VISTA came to speak to us about homelessness. We had three speakers who told us stories of their lives. Every person in the room was memorized by what they had to say. It was incredible for them to open up to us and tell us of their lives and where they were born, the immense hardships they went through, and how they overcame everything and got to where they are today. The stories brought some of the speakers to tears, as well as many of the listeners. It was an experience that im sure none of us will forget any time soon. We all learned that everyone has some good in them and can make something of their lives even if they have gone through a lot.
After everything we went through today, we are excited for all that tomorrow holds for us. Let the adventures begin!

Holli Epstein '13 (University of Delaware)
Samantha Friedman '13 (University of Delaware)
Rina Binder-Macleod '12 (University of Delaware)
Alli Chojnacki '13 (Temple University)

Bienvenido a Miami!

Sunday afternoon we all met up in the Ft. Lauderdale Airport, and from there set out to our hotel. Our hotel is right on the edge of University of Miami, which is absolutely gorgeous. There are palm trees everywhere, and everything is so green. The weather was wonderful, and walking and sitting outside was very pleasant.

After checking in at the hotel and getting our room assignments, we headed over to the University of Miami Hillel's Kutcher Auditorium for a delicious dinner! We sat in groups and got to know each other, and then it was time for ICE BREAKERS!!! Standing in a circle of 100 strangers is awkward at first, but......

....in the end turned out to be a very rewarding and beneficial part of the trip!

More to come later tonight (plus pictures!)

Becky Dreifuss '12
Mara Markinson ' 12
Becca Cohen '11
University of Delaware

Thanks to all of the participants, staff, community partners and community members for a great year of 2010 Alternative Breaks.