Year Round Programs Northeast Day of Service

By Samara Kohn, LINYC Pirsum, 11th grade 

On February 27th, I, along with 25 other young Judaeans attended an event called “Day of Service”. At the event we participated in programs relating to a variety of worldly issues such as mental health, gender inequality, antisemitism, and much more. I participated in the educational station that discussed the effect of fast fashion and the materials and work that goes into making the clothing that we wear. It made me think about the clothing I own and how I don’t always need to follow the trends. Along with that I went thrifting the day before the event and after participating in this program I am sure I will be doing it again.

Half way through the event we switched to a Zoom session with an organization called Dorot. Dorot focuses on assisting elders in isolation. Each group was put into a breakout room with one of the elders and we each got to have meaningful conversations with them. On our call most of the discussion was based on Jewish topics. Our elder told us about his bar mitzvah and the hilarious yet tragic story of the cake falling on the floor. My whole group couldn’t stop laughing, including him. It meant a lot seeing that he still finds joy in something that at the time was very sad but, now he looks back and gets a good laugh out of it. My group was very engaged in the conversation and didn’t want it to end.

Overall, I had a great time at this event! It was also a plus that I got to see all of my friends and share this experience with them.