Chesed opportunities took up much of Wednesday, October 20, and Thursday, October 21, when all the grades of the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls experienced different ways of giving back to the Jewish community.
The Eleventh and Twelfth Grades of the school did the ultimate chesed shel emes when they volunteered at the Staten Island-based Hebrew Free Burial Society, which buries Jews who have no funds. After learning the halachos of the importance for caring for Jewish burial grounds, the girls raked thousands of leaves to clean up the cemetery. They also said T’hilim for the neshamos of those who were buried there.
SKA’s Ninth Graders divided into groups to share their energy and abilities with three different dynamic organizations in Brooklyn. The clients of Otsar, a social service organization for adults and children with developmental disabilities, enjoyed the visit from the SKA Freshmen who crafted art projects and joyfully danced with them. Another group of Ninth Graders showed off their culinary skills at Masbia, a non-profit soup kitchen providing hot nutritious meals for hundreds of New Yorkers in need of food. At Bobbie’s Place, where brand new children’s clothing is available for free to families in need, the SKA girls assisted in setting up the merchandise and preparing the store for customers.
Tenth Graders brought their enthusiasm to the girls of IVDU, where special needs students are offered a nurturing educational environment. The SKA Sophomores entertained the IVDU students with games and arts and crafts and participated in sensitivity training workshops with IVDU staff members.
Many SKA students believed they made a real difference in their chesed; the more they gave, they noted, the happier they felt. Chesed at SKA is an integral part of the school!