Tweens and Teens Give Back—And Receive Too
There's no shortage of community service opportunities at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. For members age 50 and up, there’s the Engage Jewish Service Corps; the 20s and 30s cohort participates in Repair the World; and volunteers of all ages work as literacy and math volunteers or teach technology skills through SeniorTechNYC. Even our nursery schoolers hold bake sales to raise funds to help those in need.
Teens and tweens are another group reaching out to help those in need; in fact, they’ve been so eager to serve others that the JCC has had to add volunteer programs to keep up with demand.
Alex LoPinto, coordinator of the Adaptations and Ha Dereckh programs run by The Jack and Shirley Silver Center for Special Needs, has led Teen Community Cooks, the JCC’s first ongoing teen community service program, since it began in 2014. The brainchild of teen member Sydney Kaye, Teen Community Cooks has been leveling the playing field for teens with special needs and their neurotypical counterparts for the past five years.
Twice monthly, the participants, about half of whom have disabilities, meet at the JCC to prepare food for the 10 homeless women who sleep at the B’nai Jeshurun/Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew Homeless Shelter.
LoPinto is impressed by the bonds participants form. “It’s really cool to see a group of teens who wouldn’t have [otherwise] met each other come together as a team," she says. "I've watched teens with disabilities develop social skills and make connections, and watched typical teens become more competent and comfortable working with teens with differences. The warmth and compassion [of the typical teens] is amazing for kids this young.” Plus, she points out, cooking is an important life skill.
Teens with a connection to the JCC also help out with fundraising through the Teen Giving Circle. Nominated by JCC staff or board members, the teens, all of whom make a small financial commitment, come together to consider proposals that are presented to them by JCC program staff, then decide as a group which to fund.
"We want these teens to see themselves as people who have the ability to make real change," says Giving Circle co-facilitator Jon Zeftel. “They can have a tangible effect on people’s lives while at the same time feeling more connected to the JCC.”
For younger volunteers, Tween Coordinator Michelle Wexler runs Tween Community Cooks, based on the teen model, and Tweens After Dark, a Saturday evening program combining community service with a social night out. While Tween Community Cooks prepares food for the women at the B’nai Jeshurun shelter, Tweens After Dark focuses on a different project at each session.
Tween Community Cooks can accommodate between 15 and 18 kids. In 2018, when interested tweens exceeded that number, Mitzvah Mondays was rolled out.
“Mitzvah Mondays is all about reaching out to the community and doing good deeds, while incorporating Jewish values,” says leader Hillary Lerer. Participants have made sandwiches for the hungry, crafted blankets for children in need, made hamantaschen at Purim for seniors, filled containers with soup mix for pantry kitchens, and wrapped holiday gifts for families receiving services from West Side Campaign Against Hunger. Reaching a bit further geographically, they also decorated bags for Leket, an Israeli food rescue organization that donates fruits and vegetables to people in need.
Some of the Mitzvah Monday project ideas come from the tweens themselves. “If there’s something they’d like to do, we follow their lead,” Lerer says. Finding ways to feed the hungry was inspired by a visit to a food pantry kitchen.
Bailee Stein, 11, says she found Mitzvah Mondays “inspirational. I like to think about how after I make these things or do activities, the people or animals that get them will be really happy.” Her mother, Cara, says Mitzvah Mondays has left a strong impression on her daughter. “She’s more thoughtful and appreciative of what she has. She’s become more aware of people who have things harder in the world.”
For more information on Tweens After Dark, Tween Community Cooks, or Mitzvah Mondays, email Michelle Wexler at mwexler@jccmanhattan.org. For information on Teen Community Cooks, email Alex LoPinto at alopinto@jccmanhattan.org. To learn more about the Teen Giving Circle, please email Jon Zeftel at jzeftel@jccmanhattan.org.
Sherri Lerner is the former editorial director at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. She has written and edited for numerous publications and is currently on the staff of the Wechsler Center.