Volunteering through generations
Compassion knows no limit; it has no age and is not defined by experience, which is never truer than with our good friends Carter, Wyatt, and Brody. These boys are extraordinary and kind individuals who have made a significant impact at JFS and changed the lives of people in our community.
It takes many hands for JFS to get the work accomplished to help our neighbors thrive. It’s exciting to see how JFS is experiencing different generations of volunteers working together, making a difference just like their families have done throughout the organization and beyond.
JFS clients were the beneficiaries of Carter, Wyatt, and Brody’s mitzvah projects as part of their bar mitzvah preparations, and they all plan to continue their volunteer efforts with the agency.
This past August, Wyatt, and Brody volunteered as lunch servers as part of our Kosher Lunches at the JCC program, where you’ll find older adults making connections while enjoying a hot kosher meal.
“This opportunity was so fun, and it warmed my heart to give back,” shared Brody. “It reminded me of my values, and I really enjoyed helping hands on.”
While volunteering, Brody made a connection of his own. He met a gentleman, Stevie, who knew his grandfather. Stevie shared heartwarming and funny stories, and he even brought Brody a special book with his Torah portion in it and attended his bar mitzvah.
Wyatt shared, “My favorite part of volunteering through JFS is meeting the individuals who benefit from the programming and seeing them happy!”
Wyatt and Brody plan to continue volunteering at the JCC during school breaks.
Carter’s project revolves around resettlement, and he hopes to make a long-term impact. He is working with JFS staff as more refugee families settle in Colorado to help them transition to their new life by creating a peer-to-peer middle school program.
“My temple no longer requires that you do a bar mitzvah project, but I feel it's important to give back to the community,” shared Carter. “For a long time, I've felt that people need to help refugees when they come to Colorado. I am working with JFS to create a peer-to-peer mentoring program for middle schoolers to hang out together as a way to help them understand our culture. It must be scary moving to a new country and not knowing the language, what teens think is cool, etc. I hope my program can help them feel more comfortable.”
Learn more about volunteering at JFS.