YAD Social Action

Make a difference and give back by joining YAD for volunteer events around town.



January 2012 Volunteer Event

January's Tikkun organization of the month was Edmund A. Burns Elementary School in North Charleston. YADdie Natanya Miller (January's spotlight member!) is a teacher at this school, and they needed first grade reading level books. YADdies stepped up and held a book drive, collecting books at the January Happy Hour. Then, YAD volunteers went to the school on Thursday, January 26th to present the books and read a few to the kids. The first graders loved it, and YAD members had a blast!




YAD Gleans, Gleans, Gleans


On November 13, 2011, YAD members repaired the world by gleaning fresh produce for the Charleston Jewish Community Kosher Food Pantry.

What is 'gleaning?' When farmers have more crops than they can harvest, they allow volunteers to pick vegetables (glean) in their fields.  On a convenient day and time, individuals and families ‘glean’ the farmer’s field. 

The awesome members of YAD were the first group to glean.  They harvested 1,316 pounds of produce in a couple of hours.   For a couple of days after that large harvest, the Pantry volunteers worked tirelessly to distribute all the produce.  What they could not use for clients, they shared with other food pantries.

Great job, YAD! If you'd like to volunteer to glean for the Charleston Jewish Community Kosher Food Pantry, email gleaning4kfp@gmail.com.




YAD Plays BINGO

On July 26, YAD members practiced their BINGO skills with 25 residents of The Sherman House, our Tikkun Organization for July and an independent living facility west of the Ashley for Jewish and non-Jewish senior citizens. After several rousing games of BINGO, including regular BINGO, "postage stamp," "four corners," and blackout, which were called by YAD members, everyone enjoyed snacks together. More BINGO games followed, and winners were given high-end paper products (think Kleenex with the lotion in them) that YAD members brought as prizes. Afterwards, YADdies headed to Sesame Burgers & Beer for nourishment and post-BINGO cool down.



YAD Luminaria Bag Decorating

The American Cancer Society, YAD's Tikkun Organization for May 2011, holds Relay For Life each year. Relay for Life is a life-changing event that gives everyone in communities across the globe a chance to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease.

YAD Board member Hillary Green is event chair for the Charleston Relay, and she needed YAD's help to decorate luminaria bags for the event.

YADdies came with their creative juices flowing, and Hillary provided delicious snacks to keep the decorating going.





YAD Cooks Cinco de Mayo Dinner at the Hope Lodge

YAD's Tikkun Organization for May 2011 was the American Cancer Society. To support this cause, YAD volunteered to make a delicious Mexican dinner for the guests of the Hope Lodge, an American Cancer Society home away from home for cancer patients, on May 5.

YADdies prepared the food, ate and interacted with Hope Lodge guests, and cleaned up afterward. What a mitzvah!
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What is the Hope Lodge?

Hope Lodges are designed to be a "home away from home" for out-of-town adult cancer patients undergoing outpatient treatment. They are committed to providing caring and supportive environments for patients and their caregivers. Lodging is provided at no cost.

How did the Hope Lodge Begin?

Established in 1970, the Charleston Hope Lodge was the first in the country. The concept was established by Margot Freudenberg, who saw a similar facility while traveling through Australia and New Zealand with President Eisenhower’s People to People Ambassador Program.

Margot, now 103, is the longest-serving American Cancer Society volunteer in the nation.



 


YAD's Card Making Get Together

On Thursday, December 16, 2010, YADdies met at the home of Hillary Green to make cards of encouragement for the patients of MUSC’s Outpatient Pediatric AIDS Clinic, YAD’s Tikkun Organization for December. As they munched on kosher cookies and cake, YAD members colored, glued and stenciled their way to as many cheery cards as they could make. The cards, along with $465 raised at the Matzah Ball, were delivered to OPAC.



Big Hearts, Little Houses
September 2010 Tikkun Event News

On Tuesday night, September 28, 2010 YADdies got together at Synagogue Emanu-El to build birdhouses for our Tikkun organization of the month for September, Women Build. The crafty, eco-friendly birdhouses will be given as gifts to new Habitat for Humanity homeowners. Everyone had fun tapping into their childhood love of puffy paint, glitter and crafts!

   


On July 28, 2010, YAD assisted Charleston HALOS by babysitting and interacting with 49 children while their caretakers attended a support meeting. It was a rewarding experience for Bess Bluestein, Jess Glasser, Hillary Green, Sarah Kahn, Natanya Miller, Josh Pernick, Rachel Sommer, Samara Stern, Sarah and Hanes Swingle, the YADnikim who attended the event. To learn more about HALOS, visit www.charlestonhalos.org.



June 2010 Tikkun Event News
By Jess Glasser, YAD Social Action Committee Chairwoman

“It is not incumbent upon you to complete the work, but neither are you at liberty to desist from it.” (Avot 2:21)

In our most recent effort to repair the world and the community around us bit by bit, a group of dedicated YADnikim prepared a meal for the women and children residing in the temporary emergency shelter provided by My Sister’s House, Inc.
My Sister's House is a nonprofit organization that provides services, programs and resources to empower victims of domestic violence and their children to be free from abuse.  Their vision is to end the cycle of domestic violence in the tri-county area and align My Sister's House, Inc., with SCCADVASA in the effort to end domestic violence in South Carolina.


On June 20th, 8 YADnikim gathered at the home I share with James Fulks and put together a delicious feast comprised of a variety of flavors to meet the varying tastes of the 19 residents at the shelter.  The menu included grilled chicken, mac and cheese (with sweet peas!), corn on the cob, roasted asparagus, Spanish style rice and beans, and two different kinds of dessert.  Abby Sherline, the new BBG adviser, and Etai Eshel showed up 30 minutes early - a punctuality record for Jewish events worldwide -and had pumped out three no-bake cheesecakes by the time anyone else showed up.  Sarah Roshfeld, a recent CofC alumna, was on brownie duty navigating the with-nut and nut-free varieties, Holly Johnson, a Citadel graduate student, made multiple batches of arroz con habichuelas employing both rice cooker and stove-top methodologies, Brooke Miller and James Fulks braved the blistering heat index and grilled chicken breasts in the backyard... even when the rest of us had taken a lunch break for some Chinese takeout in the comfort of the climate controlled indoors, and Joseph Beker finished the corn just before a thunderstorm cut the power out.  With a fully cooked dinner packed, labeled and ready to go and no power in the house, the group headed out for ice cream while I delivered the meal to the shelter’s coordinator.  We all had fun while making a difference - a very typical experience for one of YAD’s almost monthly Social Action events.



YADdies Work Their Green Thumbs for April Tikkun Event

As our Tikkun Organization of the month for April, the JCC benefited from YAD's help on April 11, 2010. A handful of YADdies volunteered to excercise their green thumbs by cleaning up and beautifying the inner courtyard of the JCC. The group weeded, trimmed and raked their way to a clean and pretty patio, and the JCC is very grateful!



YAD Painting Party for the Florence Crittenton House a success!

The Tikkun Organization of the Month for March 2010 was the Florence Crittenton Programs of SC. Throughout its astonishing 113-year history, Florence Crittenton Programs of SC has been involved with the future of single parents and their children by providing care, counseling, and education in order to directly impact the complex social issue of teen pregnancy.

Fifteen YADnikim came out to the Florence Crittenton House on Sunday, March 20, 2010 to give a facelift to a classroom and bathroom. The teacher and students picked out the color, and YAD members worked hard to get the paint on the walls and clean the classroom.

Susan Segui, the volunteer coordinator for Florence Crittenton Programs, had this to say:
"I would like to thank the wonderful group of volunteers who created an absolute "masterpiece" in our downstairs classroom and bathroom this past Sunday. The amount of work you all put into making our learning environment beautiful was truly amazing! Thank you so much for organizing such a wonderful and important event and for being so generous in your paint donations, supplies and personal time."



         


YAD's Purim Celebration raises money for Haiti!

YAD's Caribbean Purim was an incredible success on February 27, 2010! More than 70 YADdies came out to Eye Level Art downtown for an evening of Purim revelry, the Megillah reading, the open bar, the costume contest and an awesome time. We not only had fun; we raised over $700 for JDC's Haiti Earthquake Relief!

A very special thank you goes out to:

• Rabbi Yossi Refson of Chabad of Charleston and the Lowcountry for reading the Megillah and allowing us to fulfill that mitzvah
  
• Eye Level Art Gallery and owner Mike Elder for the fantastic venue
  
• Pearlstine Distributors for generously donating the beer
• sesame burgers & beer for donating the gift card for our costume contest prize
  

for pictures of the event, visit our photo gallery page.


YADdies harvest 471 pounds of food for the hungry

January's Tikkun Organization of the Month was Fields to Families whose mission is to help increase nutrition to the area hungry by coordinating the distribution of fresh produce obtained from local gardens and farms.

On the Sunday following Tu B'Shevat, January 31, 2010, fourteen YADdies went out to Rosebank Farms on Johns Island to volunteer for Fields to Families. The YAD members who gleaned the fields included Maxine Bier, James Fulks, Jess Glasser, Zach Gorstein, Daniel Jacobsohn, Sarah Kahn, Brooke Miller, Brian Parker, Abby Sherline, Maxim Slavin, Hanes Swingle, Sarah Swingle, Johanna Sztokman and Alex Zerden. Together in wind chill temperatures in the 20s, the high-spirited group harvested 471 pounds of greens to feed the hungry!

Jacki Baer, a local Jewish woman who is the Founder and Director of Fields to Families, had this to say about the event:
"Fields to Families appreciates the moral commitment exhibited by YAD to providing the hungry with fresh nutritious produce. In one morning, under less than ideal conditions, with much enthusiasm they provided 375 meals to those that seldom see fresh vegetables - a true act of Tikkun Olam."

YAD thanks Jacki Baer and Fields to Families for this wonderful volunteer opportunity, and we thank Jess Glasser for coordinating this meaningful and successful event! If you would like to volunteer for Fields to Families, visit their website: www.fieldstofamilies.org.







YAD Helps the Trident Literacy Association in their "Buy or Burn" book sale!

YAD's volunteer event for the Trident Literacy Association's "Buy or Burn" book sale on Thursday, August 20, 2009 was a success! Members sorted, boxed and arranged books to help them get ready for the sale, which took place Saturday, August 22. After all that work, the volunteers met up at Voodoo Tiki Bar & Lounge to get some refreshments! Several YADdies went to the "Buy or Burn" book sale to pick up some good books for a low price for a great cause!