Many schools have a community service component to their requirements. In our school we require 18 hours a year. What a student does to fulfill those hours varies greatly. Some students perform meaningful community service projects such as visiting an older person and reading to them throughout the year while others find less meaningful projects. We as school administrators and teachers are always looking to find projects for our students. Creating and implementing meaningful projects could be helpful to the school. Furthermore, creating a forum for students to share their experiences and what they gained from the projects could be useful. Lastly, discussion of the Jewish values found in Jewish sources that these projects demonstrate will be impactful for students. Unfortunately, with cuts in staffing, we find it difficult to assign a staff member to find meaningful projects, lead discussions with students on their projects, and teach the Jewish sources relating to tikkun olam. This organization could be helpful in these three areas.
Focusing on the traditional community service projects like soup kitchens, mishloach manot to the Jewish poor, or assisting the Jewish elderly is not as glamorous as focusing on global peace and justice. However, if our students were to find more meaning in their traditional service projects it will engender a sense of obligation which will translate in their college years and beyond into more activism on global peace and justice.
Rabbi Uriel Lubetski, Principal MS/HS
Yeshivat Rambam / Maimonides Academy
6300 Park Heights Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21215
lubetskiu@yrambam.org
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www.yrambam.org]
