By Matt Quijas
SAN DIEGO — Members of the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, and the San Diego Teen Coalition congregated for Earth Day Sunday, April 22, to give back to San Diego community.
JCC Teen Director, Karen Flexer Friedenberg, coordinated the day’s events in which each teen team had an adult coordinator. JSERVE’s community service included:
*Beach clean-up at La Jolla Shores
*Providing lunch to the homeless
*Spending time with young victims of violence and abuse
*Creating a mural for the Ronald McDonald House
*Working with children with special needs
*Working at Hand Up Youth Food Pantry
*Rallying to End Genocide
Each respective group showed care and appreciation for San Diego County.
I accompanied the beach clean-up conducted at La Jolla Shores. The group was responsible for clearing any trash washed ashore, as well as picking up trash in the parking lot.
Fortunately, the beach was cleaner than anticipated, which can be seen as a good sign people are doing their part to properly dispose of trash. Team Captain Angela Zuniga was responsible for ensuring the young individuals made it to La Jolla Shores Beach and back to the San Diego Jewish Academy safely. Angela is the JCC’s Graphic Designer.
Zuniga said, “The turnout was a success, it may have been better if we had chosen a location with more pollution. Overall, I do feel we played our role in making a difference.” Following the Beach Clean-up, the group created a couple of murals with recycled magazines.
At the Hand Up Youth Food Pantry, teens participated in restocking the shelves and organizing bags with food for less fortunate families in the community.
Several students were shuttled to the San Diego Rescue Mission, in Hillcrest, where they served lunch to the homeless. Those chosen to spend time with children who have been neglected or abused went to the New Alternative Group Home, also in Hillcrest.
At Friendship Circle, located at the San Diego Jewish Academy, teens joined children with disabilities in doing art projects, playing music, and practicing therapeutic exercises with a little bit of yoga.
Another group was sent to work with the Middle School Projects at the Lawrence Family JCC, to create a Community Garden, repair the gaga pit for Camp Jaycee, create a mural for the Ronald McDonald house, and to learn more about the Jewish Federation’s Mitzvah Makers.
Friendenberg said overall she felt the event was amazing. She stated, “JSERVE hasn’t been a presence in our community for the past couple years, but this year we really revitalized the program and got a lot of teens from diverse backgrounds and neighborhoods to come together to repair the world.”
*
Quijas is a freelance writer based in San Diego