My experience on AWB was extremely rewarding because I had the chance to see things that I would never see in New Jersey. I got to see skid row which made me realize how lucky I am and how homeless people have such a strong community. As I walked by each person I saw that they were positive and were very comfortable with us walking by them each person said “hello” and “how are you doing” in such a kindly manner. While being on skid row I also noticed the amount of tents that were in placed for the people to sleep in and it occurred to me that if people can appreciate living in a tent then I can appreciate anything that I have in my life. Skid row really opened my eyes to a whole new world that I have never seen before and it made me realize that I appreciate everything I have in my life.

Another experience that I had on AWB was going to PATH, the homeless shelter and I got to make food for the homeless and talk to the people that were at the homeless shelter. Cooking the food was very rewarding because I got to see everyone eat the food I made and it looked like they enjoyed it and I saw the smile on the people’s faces when they were eating it. Not only was cooking the food a rewarding experience I also had a great time making it with my friends and I haven’t had so much joy in something in a long time. Even though I had a great time with my friends I also had a great time with the people at path. I met a few people and had long conversations about life and how positivity is the key to success and staying alive which is very true. I learned a lot from the people at path and their experiences which made me realize that anything could happen in life and you only live once.

~ Dan Rottenstrich – 11th Grade, Fair Lawn, NJ

The best part about a mitzvah is that you may never know the impact your action made. Today we completed two tasks that many people from the group deemed superfluous and unhelpful. We helped clean and organize three thrift shops that serve primarily impoverished shoppers, and we helped a caretaker clean up public block gardens around the area. These tasks seemed as if they would have little to no impact. I feel they may just have had the most impact. We were able to help an ex- alcoholic man clean up his town and make it more beautiful. The trees and plants that we dug in the ground will make the impoverished area look nicer, and therefore the residents of the town will have hope. By them passing by and seeing us work on their community it showed them that we care. This was the type of service where the impact we made wasn’t seen right away. But the impact will be seen a little bit everyday when residents drive by our newly planted sidewalk gardens and have hope for the future. Little mitzvahs like these are the most important acts of kindness.

~ Daniel Hack – 11th Grade, Suffern, NY

Today marks the first AWB Shabbat I have done in my lifetime. Also, it is close to the last YJ Shabbat I will ever experience as a camper. Now for most people this might mean really nothing. But, to me it means the world. Young Judaea has taught me many skills and attributes, and Shabbat is the time to look back at what we  have learned throughout the week. So as I sit and watch all the sprout kids sing siyum I start to tear and reminisce. I remember my first CJ Shabbat singing alone, when suddenly I am gathered around a huge crowd of people singing shira shketa. I remember when I was welcomed by such a close family. I remember when I gained another family. I remember the amazing times I’ve had. I remember when I became a leader. Ever since I have joined Young Judaea shabbat has been a different type of day for me. This summer I went on Machon. An amazing Israel trip ran by Young Judaea. On this trip we were allowed a free weekend. Free weekend is when you are allowed (with the acceptance of a guardian) to go out and explore Israel differently. Without a tour guide. My friend had a house in Haifa. So, me and 10 of my amazing friends stayed there. While we were all hanging out we realized these were one of the last Shabbatot together. So, we cooked food gathered around a table and sang. We sang and had one of the best times of my lifetime. So as I sit in this room on Alternative Winter Break I tear up because nothing I say will ever compare to what I have experienced and felt with this movement. I have now created my own definition for Shabbat. I also hope that others have defined it for themselves throughout there life. But, I am glad YJ has shaped it into what it is for me. A time to reminisce and be with eachother, off the social network, and to live in the present.

~ Salomon “Salo” Levy –  12th Grade, Miami, Florida 

I was never able to go on AWB as a chanicha, so I wasn’t sure what to expect this year as a staff. The participants exceeded all my initial expectations. These teens are not just here to visit with friends; they are truly passionate and invested in the work we have done here in LA. Learning about the homeless in the U.S opened all of our eyes to an issue that is seldom discussed in schools. Walking through Skidrow exposed us to the harsh reality of homelessness and the lack of government support. However not all is lost–organizations such as PATH do incredible work in the fight to end homelessness. The participants on AWB LA cooked delicious holiday meals for the residents and learned about homelessness through first-hand experiences. The days spent at PATH were long but fulfilling. We will still be unpacking the experience for weeks to come.
After the heaviness of PATH, the participants and staff were in need for some retail therapy. We volunteered at three different Hope of the Valley locations, a thrift store committed to helping those in poverty with their low prices. Our tasks at Hope of the Valley included stocking shelves, collecting hangers, tagging items, etc. Even though the experience wasn’t as personal as our time at PATH, we felt gratified. The work we did helped the stores’ employees and thus the organization as a whole.

After, we volunteered at Pico-Union, an inter-faith community center not so far from skid row. We went around the neighborhood planting trees along the3 sidewalk in an attempt to beautify the neighborhood. Afterwards, Jorge, the groundskeeper at Pico-Union explained to us how we inspire him, and that our work around the neighborhood would go to inspire local residents to be part of the community.
At the end of the day I felt energized and excited to continue the journey with the whole AWB team!

~ Miriam Alexander is from Ann Arbor, Michigan and attends the University of Michigan

Today my group visited the recirculating farms coalition. The farm is right in the middle of a food desert, a place where people don’t have access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Recirculating farms grows organic fruits and vegetables athat they sell to the residents of the food dessert at a reduced price. When we went to visit them we helped around however they needed us to. We did many different small tasks that need to be done on a daily basis to allow the farm run smoothly.  It was really nice knowing we played a part in providing cheap healthy food to people who previously had no access what so ever to fresh food.

~ Zander Winston – 10th Grade, Birmingham, Alabama

Today we volunteered for a nonprofit organization called Green Light. This organization helps build gardens for members of the New Orleans community and aids in providing healthy accessible food options. In our volunteering we built a garden for a women who just recently moved to New Orleans with her husband. I feel that we have truly made an impact on this family’s life because this garden will lead this family to a healthier lifestyle while also being a reasonably affordable option. After building the garden, we started out on our next Green Light project. This project was to help change residents light bulbs into more energy efficient ones that would be better for the environment and a more affordable option in the long run. Doing this made us realize that the littlest things can help create a better and safer environment. By knowing that we took part in not only helping others but helping the environment, we feel that today has been a successful day and we cannot wait to see what we are doing tomorrow.

~ Alyssa Bigelman – 10th Grade, Parkland, Florida

We began our volunteering at the St. Bernard Project with an ice breaker. We went around in a circle saying our name and the city we live in, then we recounted a childhood memory. After everyone had gone Chris, one our volunteer coordinators, told us the purpose of the ice breaker. Everyone of our memories was related to our neighborhood or a home. By building the house that we were working on today, we were helping a little boy or girl like us make memories. We helped families come together and have a normal life in a good home. Although we just painted the home and helped clean, I really felt like I was changing people’s lives. Even though the painting we did was just a small part of the home in the future, each minute we helped paint was a minute closer to a family moving in.

~ Owen Jannsen – 9th Grade, Evanston, Illinois

The towering highways wind and turn above the Lower Ninth Ward, casting long, serpent-like shadows above the decayed and broken homes. It’s hard to believe that the Hurricane Katrina was ten years ago, but for the inhabitants of the Lower Ninth, it still feels like yesterday. But Greenlight strives to make the inhabitants feel like it’s tomorrow. From installing high-tech CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lights) fixtures, to creating aesthetic and simple gardens, all free of charge.

Today, we helped Green Light perform both of these services. But the most powerful experience for me was truly seeng how different everything was in the Lower Ninth. The main city of New Orleans is comparable to Manhattan, Miami, Chicago, and ever other major city in the United States. But in the Lower Ninth, all that changed. The streets haven’t been serviced in years, and are scarred and mistreated. It seems that every other house is abandoned and destroyed, still marked with an eerie paint, counting the number of corpses found within the home after Katrina. The paint has been around for 10 years, and was drawn by the first responders. The houses that have been rebuilt are much more cheery, and are fairly new, painted with bright colors of orange, green, and pink, which clash heavily with the grey and black of the thick metal girders covering the windows and doors. Even after giving people a few minutes heads up that we would be coming, they would still cautiously open the door, and ask who we were before unbolting and unchaining the entrance to their home. Even the way they talk is different. We all had trouble understanding what some were saying, as they spoke their twisted and changed, yet unique, version of the English language.

In the end we built one garden for a grandmother and her grandchildren, and replaced nearly all the lightbulbs in two homes. While it seems fairly minuscule, this simple work will save each family hundreds of dollars in the years to come. Hundreds that they can use to better their lives, their homes, and their neighborhoods. And as the neighborhoods get better, more people will move in, and more decayed houses will be torn down and rebuilt, and the Lower Ninth will become the strong and unique community it was all those years ago.

~ Gabi Glueck – 11th Grade, Highland Park, NJ

Today my group took part in Green Light New Orleans, which is a nonprofit organization that takes out lightbulbs in resident homes and replace them with Mercury free bulbs in order to decrease the amount carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere. Along with the lightbulbs, GRNO puts in small gardens into backyards to takes New Orleans residents the importance of building self-sustaining gardens. This is my second time doing AWB in NOLA and this is probably my favorite service project because it really allows us to interact with the home owners; speaking with them about their life, about their encounter with Hurricane Katrina, etc. It was really amazing to talk to Mrs. Margaret about how she ended up in New Orleans because she fell in love. She said “when you fall in love with a man from New Orleans, you are with them for the rest of your life”. It is moments like these where you really get to connect with the people you are helping out. Also, I was so happy to see Mrs. Margaret help us with the finishing touches of the garden construction because it shows how interested she actually is in invested time to maintain her garden. Overall, I am having an amazing time on AWB NOLA for the second time and am thoroughly enjoying the service projects as well as the pulsing culture that NOLA has to offer.

~ Matthew Kaplan is from Atlanta, Georgia and attend the University of Georgia

Camp is an single experience made up of multiple amazing experiences. Those of us who are now too old to go to junior camps or Tel Yehudah often forget just how much we are missing. Today was Saturday, which is debatably the best day out of the camp week. It is a day filled with fun shabbat services, learning about the week’s parsha by watching the parsha players perform, extra chofesh(free time), havdallah services, and of course rikud(dancing). This is the day that made not only me, but multiple other people, miss camp more than we had any other day this week.

Once we started singing the old songs and dancing the same dances that i had done back at Camp Young Judea, I immediately picked up right where i had left off in middle school. It felt like i had never left in the first place and I had this overwhelming feeling of community accompanied by pure joy. I was overcome with love for my both my religion and the people that were surrounding me. It felt like home.

Camp Young Judea Texas is not just someplace I went for a few summers when I was a kid and then will forget as I grow older. Camp is a place where i made memories that i will have with me forever and a place where i made friendships that will last a lifetime. Camp is and will always be my home and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Dedicated to the place where my heart lives.

~ Rebecca Stetzer – 11th Grade, Houston, Texas