This guide was developed to assist families in selecting Tikkun Olam projects as part of Bar or Bat Mitzvah preparation. This is not meant to be an all-inclusive list, and there are likely to be many other projects available. Moreover, not all projects listed here may be appropriate for every teen, and we cannot guarantee that every organization will offer opportunities exactly as described in the guide. Please consider this as a starting point for investigating all your options.
This guide will be updated on an ongoing basis. Because this is the first edition, we strongly encourage all recommendations of additional organizations and projects. Feedback from actual experiences with the organizations below is also very helpful for improving this guide.
For additional information, feedback
or suggestions, please contact: Elise Caplan
Adat Shalom Mishnah Garden provides opportunities for children of all ages to participate in garden activities as a Tikkun Olam project, including B'nai Mitzvah students. They can join in the planting and harvesting of a variety of fruits, vegetables and herbs, join in other gardening tasks as the need arises, or take on specific projects such as planting and caring for milkweed to attract butterflies to the garden. Contact: Fred Pinkney to coordinate specific garden projects or Marci Greenstein to ask about the garden's planting and harvesting schedule.
Assisted living facilities throughout
the area provide opportunities for interacting with residents in many
different ways. Teens should contact the facilities directly to find
out their needs. There are numerous volunteer options at the Hebrew
Home of Greater Washington, with the requirement that children under
14 be accompanied by an adult. For more information, go to: http://www.hebrew-home.org/
Behrend Builders,
which is part of the DC Jewish Community Center (DC JCC), needs volunteers
to work in lower-income neighborhoods
in Washington, D.C. to repair, renovate and beautify individual family
homes, community centers, schools, shelters, parks and other community
spaces. For more information, go to http://www.washingtondcjcc.
Contact: Michal
Rosenoer, Behrend
Builders Coordinator, at behrendbuilders@
Bethesda Cares provides outreach services to the homeless. Volunteer opportunities for teens include making food and helping serve lunch, or sponsoring drives for needed donations. Contact: Susan Kirk at susan@bethesdacares.org or (301) 907-9244.
Camp Service at the DC JCC. Summer
campers perform service projects such as painting a recreational center
in a lower-income neighborhood, preparing and delivering food for day
laborers and the homeless, making a path and clearing areas at a camp
for lower-incomechildren, and other projects. For more information go
to: http://washingtondcjcc.org/
Capital
BookShare collects and sorts books and then brings them to teachers
in underresourced schools in Southeast DC where the teachers then choose
as many books as they want for their classroom bookshelves. Volunteers
can host book drives at their schools, at Adat Shalom, or at their B'nai
Mitzvah. If a volunteer is also interested in accompanying Capital BookShare
to one of its schools in Southeast, that teenager needs first to be
approved by someone on the board, and a parent must also accompany him/her
to the school. Contact: Adat Shalom member Melissa Fox at share@capitalbookshare.org or (301) 775-3057.
Chai
Lifeline provides opportunities to help seriously ill children by
visiting them or organizing toy and gift drives. Their web site (http://www.chailifeline.org/
Chords of Glory: Performance with a Purposem a project of Community Kids Inc. (www.cchfp.org) is an ensemble of middle school-age singers, dancers, instrumentalists and actors who are passionate about both the performing arts and community service. We perform for people who, for reasons of age, disability, illness, or economic hardship cannot experience live performance. Students can earn service learning credits for school,
church, synagogue, and scouting. Contact: Pam Sommers.
Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place (www.cchfp.org) empowers men and women experiencing homelessness to rebuild their lives with the involvement of the community. Volunteer opportunities include playing board games with consumers, making sandwiches, organizing the food pantry, painting, and conducting drives for needed items. Contact: Michael O'Neill, Community Engagement Coordinator, moneill@cchfp.org, 202-364-1419 x23(office) or 202-747-4231(cell).
Days End Farm Horse Rescue rescues and rehabilitates starving, abused or neglected horses. Volunteer opportunities include cleaning, watering, feeding, grooming and management of the horses. No experience with horses is required. Youths 12 and older may volunteer without a parent after attending the orientation. Children under 12 may volunteer if a parent volunteers by their side and provides supervision at all times. For more information on volunteering, go to www.defhr.org/vols/vol.htm. Contact: info@defhr.org or 301-854-5037.
DC Central Kitchen prepares meals
for the homeless using leftover food. They accept volunteers aged 12
and up to help prepare the meals. All ages can also volunteer from June
through October to glean produce from area farms that will be used for
the meals. To register to volunteer, go to: http://www.dccentralkitchen.
The Friendship Circle. Once
a week (or every two weeks), teens meet with a special needs child in
their community, getting to know them, having fun, and providing social
interaction for children who have a tough time making friends. Teens
can also choose to visit the elderly. Contact: Sarah Goldberg
(smg9107@gmail.com) for questions. To sign up, contact the organizer
of the Washington D.C. chapter at thefriendshipcircledc@gmail.
Interfaith Works
operates a number of projects open to youth volunteers. At
the Clothing Distribution Center, volunteers sort, organize and
display clothing, accept donations and assist clients. (http://www.iworksmc.org/p-
Open Arms Housing provides permanent homes with on-going supportive services for single
women who have lived on the streets and in the shelters of Washington, D.C. Volunteers
can: prepare and/or serve holiday meals and celebrations (Christmas and Easter particularly
helpful); provide gifts or gift certificates for Mother's Day, birthdays, Christmas, etc.; organize
drives for canned and fresh food, clothes, cosmetics, and household supplies; plan and
carry out activities such as Bingo games, knitting, and computer skills training; interview the
women about their life stories; or develop their own ideas for projects. For more information,
go to www.openarmshousing.org, or email Adat Shalom member Marilyn Kresky-Wolff at
marilyn@openarmshousing.org.
Poplar Springs Animal Sanctuary
(http://www.animalsanctuary.
Special Olympics Maryland – Montgomery County needs volunteers to participate alongside children in their sports programs for people with intellectual disabilities. Their website mentions an older minimum age, but they have allowed younger people (including Adat Shalom B’nai Mitzvah students) to participate on a case-by-case basis. (www.somdmontgomery.org)
Contact: Pam Yerg, Area Director,
at 301-424-3083
Star Gazing Farm
(http://www.stargazingfarm.
Contact: farmeranne@stargazingfarm.org, (301) 349-0802.
Stepping Stones Shelter in Rockville
(www.steppingstonesshelter.org
Contact: Denise Fredericks, 301-251-0567,
ext. 101, dfredericks_sss@yahoo.com.
A Wider Circle (www.AWiderCircle.org) provides furniture and basic household needs
to families transitioning out of shelters and into permanent housing.
Volunteer opportunities include organizing and shelving items in the
warehouse, assisting families in locating items, and interacting with
younger children while their parents "shop."
Yachad (www.yachad-dc.org) mobilizes the resources of the Washington-area Jewish community to repair and rebuild lower-income neighborhoods. Volunteer opportunities are available for 13 year-olds, as long as they are accompanied by an adult who works with them.
Contact: Kendra Rubinfeld, Director of Programming, 202-296-8563, kendra@yachad-dc.org.
Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation
7727 Persimmon Tree Lane
Bethesda, MD 20817
E-mail info@adatshalom.net
Phone: 301-767-3333 x106 | FAX: 301-767-3340
Shabbat Services: Saturdays, 9:30 a.m.
We are an affiliate of the
Jewish Reconstructionist Federation
and part of the
Chesapeake Region of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation
(CRJRF)