The following essay on community service was written by Lucy Zener, a middle schooler, enrolled in City Congregation’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah program. Students spend a year and a half researching their heritage, values and beliefs, and write on a Jewish subject of their choice, their major project; they also perform 13 hours of community service, and write about it. An example of this component can be seen below. The process improves both the student’s writing and critical thinking skills, as well as their self confidence and overall maturity.
As part of my Bat Mitzvah, I had to do community service for thirteen hours. My family does a lot of community service. My mom’s job is doing it, as she is a therapist, although she does get paid. We go on marches and donate to charity. It means a lot to me. Not everyone is as fortunate as my family, and we have to give back, especially to not-for-profits, since they rely on donations to keep running.
My first project was something I wanted to do for a long time, however, I did not have any expectations going into it. I didn’t really have expectations for any of my community service projects. This was also the only project I did thinking, “I’m going to use this for my Community Service Paper”. For this project, I went to my nursery school and volunteered as a teacher’s assistant. I did this for two reasons. The first is that I have wanted to volunteer there since there were volunteers coming into my class and my pre-school brain thought that looked like fun. So did my almost 7th-grade brain.
The other reason is that I want to be a teacher, and helping out with a class, even if the class is several grades below the grade I want to teach, is good practice. Being a teacher’s assistant in Kidschool, and at my old nursery school was fun. I feel like I’m helping, which is a rewarding feeling. One of the reasons that I want to be a teacher is to help kids who may not be understood.
I did this activity while I was starting to work on my Bat Mitzvah, so I don’t have the best memory of it. I basically just helped out with snack, setting up the classroom, and playing with the little kids. Nap-time was challenging because it was 2 hours and I had nothing to do. I did a lot of reading over that week.
The next project I did involved food. My friend Simon, his friend, and I went to a food bank for the homeless, called Community Kitchen-West Harlem, for Simon’s birthday party. We handed out toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, and shampoo to people who were homeless and came in for a meal. This was important because even with food stamps and other public assistance, it’s hard for people living in poverty and for people who are homeless to get cosmetics and other basic hygiene items. Having those items helps restore their dignity. I would do this kind of service again.
My next community service is part of a family tradition. At the end of the year, we donate some money to organizations that we support. As part of my allowance, I get a certain amount of money to put in the donate section of my piggy bank. I also donate some of the money I get from working. At the end of the year, I take the money out and donate it to places that I like. Last year, I donated to an organization for the environment, WNYC, and Planned Parenthood. I love listening to WNYC because what I listen to is a mix of education and science, as well as humor. Planned Parenthood is important to me because it represents feminism and a woman’s right to have or not have a family. I do research to help me decide where I donate. For example, I didn’t donate to a big environmental group because it protested against something I agree with, GMOs. I don’t know where I will donate to this year, because when I’m writing this paper it is January and I don’t know what the big issues of the year will be. (This is before 2020 became the terrible year it is. Ha ha, I was so oblivious.) I choose things that are current and relate to my values. I think that donating is very important, because you’re helping others make the world a better place, both socially and environmentally. It’s also important because not everyone is as fortunate as my family, and we have to give back, as I said, to make the world better. While this doesn’t count as hours for my service work, it’s still community service.
All of these activities represent one of my values. The volunteering at my nursery school is a reflection of the value of education. Helping out at the food bank shows the value of community. The places where I donated each illustrate a different value which I hold, such as Planned Parenthood for feminism. It’s important to do community service. Not only does it feel rewarding, it makes the world a better place.
