YLC
Last Saturday night I attended an impressive event hosted by the Orthodox Union’s YLC (Young Leadership Cabinet). I must give tremendous kudos to Tzivia Arnow, Director of the YLC, for organizing such an incredible evening (for more information about the YLC you can reach Ms. Arnow at Arnowt@ou.org). This event raised funds and awareness for the citizens of Sderot, where daily life includes a ceaseless stream of deadly kassam rockets and an unabating sense of fear and anxiety. Naturally the situation in Sderot has had devastating effects on the entire community, young and old, and that is why social and relief services are desperately required there.
For the past six years OU Israel has been providing services to the people of Sderot and due to the current climate their efforts have greatly intensified with NCSY Israel (Makom Balev) offering children and teens much needed therapy, counseling, and some respite from their daily terror with after school social programming. At the event as I stood watching these faces enraptured as a video played detailing the plight of the people in Sderot and the OU’s efforts to help, I couldn’t help feeling inspired.
Here stood over 70 young men and women who could have spent their Saturday night doing any other number of activities and yet they chose to convene to dedicate their time and money to their brothers and sisters in Israel. Despite the number of other personal priorities each one had- their careers, their families, their personal responsibilities, they managed to look outside of their own sphere and remember the importance of helping others. This group certainly serves as valuable model to all of us to always remember to look beyond our immediate concerns and remember our wider community, no matter what hectic stage of life we have reached.
Next entry: NCSY Expansion
Previous entry: ZULA