Today, March 27, Aliya led by Rabbi Moishe Feiglin and Aliya Girls Loft, led by Rabbi Meir New, with an additional seven centers for Jewish youth at risk, are uniting in the second annual Youth Giving Day.
Today’s young men and women have unprecedented opportunities to actualize themselves, contribute to their communities, and impact the world. But with unprecedented opportunities come unprecedented challenges—and these organization are standing up together to be heard, for they have made it their mission to hear, and respond to, the voices of your children.
For those honest enough, and brave enough, to address children’s realities today, to look our youth in the eye and guarantee them they have an irreplaceable place in the Creator’s plan and in our people’s mission—this is the Giving Day you’ve been waiting for!
Film: Just Walk Beside Us
A project of Aryeh Young of “Our Place” in collaboration with Charidy, and sponsored by Pomegranate, this year’s campaign marches to the rhythm of a legendary song of faith and belonging. Just Walk Beside Us seeks to educate about and destigmatize many of the personal and collective challenges boys and girls must overcome in order to find balance, stability and Jewish fulfillment in an ever-rapidly-changing world.
“It’s all about education—not just schoolwide, but community-wide. It’s time for parents and families and schools and rabbis and communal leaders to partner as one,” shared Rabbi Zvi Gluck, the Founder and executive director of Amudim.
He continued, “False stigmas and fear of shame paralyze many. We aim to create the tools to share this information with the community, through awareness programming and counselling training for rabbis and communal leaders, and with increased professional staff and quality professional service.”
“A new at risk phenomenon that we are seeing increasingly is that of yeshivah boys and girls who talk the talk, and, to the outside world, walk the walk, but behind closed doors they’ve already left Jewish observance,” described Simcha Lebowicz, LMSW at Project Extreme.
He added, “We must dig deeper within our own spiritual resources, as well as make use of professional wisdom and every opportunity to make Judaism relevant and fun, and together give those who are most precious to us and the future of our nation—our children—what they need to lead happy, healthy, successful and meaningful lives.”
To stand up and address this issue as a community—and as a family—please visit www.charidy.com/walkbesideus
This video was produced and edited by Bassie Lieder of B.Media bytes.
this for years but no one listens. She was my teacher almost fifteen years ago, and to this day she recognizes what’s going on below hte surface, but no one in our schools or yeshivas wants to acknowledge reality. They would rather scream and yell about leggings or tznius bottons and nail polishes then really speak to kids as real people with their own right to their questions and feelings. Teachers!! Wake up!! This is not ‘your’ generation so don’t keep truing to make more and more rstrictions to fit ‘your’ idea of what yiddishkeit means!
Bassie did you do this one too?
You are brilliant!
You helped me in Aliya when I was down and out
You spent hours upon hours holding my hand when I thought my life was finished
You are my hero Bassie
Very nice idea, to hear their voices is so important!!