Volunteering was the name of the game at the recent Teens For the Community awards dinner at Petach Tikvah Synagogue.
With some 130 teens, parents and dignitaries in attendance, the evening paid tribute to the effort and time put forth by volunteers who go beyond the call of duty in order to reach out to their communities.
“These very good young people have set an example and inspired our youth to do the same,” said Thornhill MPP Peter Shurman who was on hand to help present the awards.
A project of Chabad Youth Network, an organization dedicated to engaging Jewish teens through activities and community involvement, the Teens For the Community program started last year in Thornhill with 30 volunteers. The group organized fundraisers and activities to lend a hand to the homeless, the elderly and anyone else in need.
The group was meant as a way for students to be proactive in the community, said Chabad Youth Network director Shmuli Nachlas.
“The leadership committee drives the whole program,” said Nachlas. “Everybody takes on the different jobs as needed and everyone does their part to help make the event a success.”
Now in its second year, the Teens For the Community program has grown to three branches and 75 dedicated volunteers.
“Our goal is to get other teens involved,” said Josh Freedman, 18, president of TFC North.
Involved since the group’s inception, Freedman said he first came on board because it sounded like a good way to complete mandatory community service hours for school.
“But over time it’s developed into a lot more than that,” said Freedman, who now has more than enough community service hours under his belt. “It’s a way to make getting those hours not a burden, but something I really want to do.”
In particular, Freedman said he’s proud of a basketball tournament fundraiser the group organized,
“That’s what got other people most involved,” said Freedman. “I saw that even small actions can yield big results.”
It seems that enthusiasm is infectious. When Freedman’s brother Adam started grade 9 in September, there was no question about how he would get his community service hours.
“He didn’t even hesitate. He said I’m going to TFC,” said Ethne Freedman, the boys’ mother, who added she has only praise for the program. “Rabbi Schmuli is a fantastic role model and mentor to them. They’ve learned a lot, they’ve met nice kids, and they’re happy to go. Even when their hours are done they don’t stop going.”
The current president of the Forest Hill chapter, Michael Siskin, 15, was similarly enthusiastic when he helped expand the group. After seeing a website for the Thornhill branch, Siskin contacted Nachlas to talk about starting a chapter down south.
“We decided to meet in a coffee shop. There were six of us that (first) time and I didn’t really imagine it would go much further,” said Siskin, who was honoured at the awards dinner.
“But we really grew very quickly. Now there are 17 of us and we’re meeting every two weeks.”
Many of the volunteers have handily surpassed the 10 to 18 hours of community service required of them in a school year. For the Forest Hill volunteers, many of those hours were spent organizing a parallel basketball tournament to help raise money for a child in the community who has cancer.
“There were 40 to 50 kids who participated,” said Siskin. “The money was pooled together so that he could get an X-Box and games to amuse himself (while coping with his illness).”
But in addition to the satisfaction of helping others, Siskin said volunteering has also been an educational experience.
“I learned a lot about leadership,” Siskin said. “I really learned to motivate my group, keep them on task and keep everything going.
“Everyone should get involved in something like this and give back to their community. It’s feels really good.”
