Today I did a Ted Talk presentation for my English. My Ted Talk was about the importance of volunteering and I thought it would be important to mention our Jewish connection to giving back to others. Something that has been passed down for generations in family and also something that i learned in religious school is that to make the world better, we have to help people that are less fortunate than ourselves. I sometimes mix up the terms tikun olam and tzedka. Tikun olam being repairing the world, and tzedaka literally translating to justice , but more broadly translated to charity or giving back. I think that the terms sort of merge because for me, it is an obligation of us as jew to repair the world and we do that by helping others. When we are doing justice, we are repairing the world. I think that the values that we learn in the Tanakh teach us how to give back to others and appreciate what we have.
This is the script I used for my Ted Talk which was about the Importance of Volunteering:
From a young age, my family has stressed the importance of volunteering. My dad sits on the boards of 8 non-profit organizations and my mom is also very involved in various non-profits. And even when I talk to him about volunteering, he still thinks he hasn’t done enough. Their ideas of giving back to the community have stuck with me from a young age. There was never really a choice of whether we wanted to help or not, or and I wouldn't have it any other way. From the time that I was 10 years old, I had been introduced to people with disabilities whether it be mental or physical, (whether they be)3 years or 65 years old. By working with people with disabilities I began to understood what it was like for people not as privileged as I am. My parents never were into giving gifts to us and for my Bat Mitzvah project and my both my brothers bar mitzvah projects, we asked for donations to start a program that teaches sports to special needs. We were able to raise a combined $38,000 that would go towards all of the costs that it takes to run the program for the next 20 or so years. Something that has been passed down for generations in family and also something that i learned in religious school is that to make the world better, we have to help people that are less fortunate than ourselves.
I sometimes mix up the terms tikun olam and tzedka. Tikun olam being repairing the world, and tzedaka literally translating to justice , but more broadly translated to charity or giving back. I think that the terms sort of merge because for me, it is an obligation of us as jew to repair the world and we do that by helping others.
something amazing about Israeli society is that it is normal for Israelis to do a year of community service before entering the army. This helps expose Israelis to other people that may not be as fortunate as them and it also makes them more empathetic. If I could make it mandatory for all students to do some type of service before they graduate I would. Buddy Ball is a program that I run in my town that teaches sports to special needs children.I partially accomplished my goal by convincing the coaches of my high schools’ football team, both the girls and boys soccer team, tenis team, and the cross country team to make buddy ball a mandatory part of their Saturday mornings. All of these teams have changed their practice schedule to make sure that their athletes are attending buddy ball before practicing or going to a game. Because of this, the majority of the best athletes in my school participate in teaching sports to children with special needs. For the children with special needs, they feel really cool when they get to work with these big shot, football players or goalies. Then, when the “Buddies” go to a sports game and see their “Pal” playing they get really excited. For me personally, it is incredible to see these top athletes who can be vicious in a competitive sports setting can turn into gentile and compassionate role models when they work with the children with special needs. It helps them realize that they are not these mighty, varsity athletes but that they really work on the same things that these children do, which humbles them. Watching the teenage volunteers, or "pals" grow is also incredible. It so satisfying to watch the teenagers in my school grow more accepting of the buddies. We have seen this in so many aspects. We recently had a group of buddies come to our high school and they were openly welcomed by the “popular” athletes who would sit and eat lunch with these children to help include them.
Something that we make sure to address at the beginning of every season is that Buddy Ball is not something for everyone. It requires patience and kindness above all. For me, what is evident is how much my volunteering has effected the people I am helping, but I don’t think that these people especially the children realize how much they are helping me. Buddy ball has made me more compassionate and understanding, and I have definitely developed a sense of patience. When I came on EIE, leaving my program behind was one of the hardest things because I knew I would miss seeing the bright faces and obviously I wanted to make sure that everything would be run perfectly.
Volunteering isn’t about the recognition you could get. You shouldn’t care that anyone sees but its about how it makes you and the other person feels you don’t need recognition you know you’re helping, the person you’re helping
One of the criticisms of volunteering is that people can use it for alternative motives. It is said that many people volunteer because it makes the volunteer feel good about themselves, not because the work that they are doing is helping others. At times, I agree with this statement. The time that volunteers put into Buddy Ball count towards community service hours This past year, we saw that many people tried to exaggerated the number of hours that they said they did just to get into the national honors society, and then stopped showing up. If I was home right now, I can assure you all that they would be participating every weekend. At the same time, this issue makes me feel conflicted because I only want the people that want to be there participating, but I want people to get to know the children with disabilities. A lot of the times what will also happen is that people will not always start off participating with the best intentions, but then over time they will grow to love the program and be active participants.
Sometimes, the way that volunteering makes you feel helps spread it to others. One of my favorite memories from Buddy Ball was watching my "buddy" make his first basket. I had been working with this four year old for about a year and a half, and he was always too short and not strong enough to even hit the rim of the basket. Finally out of nowhere one day, he made it. We both started jumping up and down, screaming, and high fiving. I remember seeing this huge smile spread across his face and I just remember feeling so accomplished. For me, seeing the expressions on the faces of the "buddies" when they succeed is one of the most rewarding feelings in the world, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else.
I want to tell you guys about a very special boy for a few minutes. His name is Marc Anthony and he is fourteen years old. I first met Marc Anthony five years ago on the first day ever of buddy ball. The moment he walked into the gym, he started sobbing and screaming that he didn’t want to be there. Eventually, everyone was able to calm Marc Anthony down and since then, he has barley missed any buddy ball sessions in five years. When Marc Anthony spends an hour and a half with us every Saturday morning, thats one more hour that his mom can spend working at rite aid to support their family. Lizbeth is Marc Anthony’s mother and she works two jobs so she can support her severely autistic son and very sick mother. Her husband was shot and died, so the only income coming in for Liz, Mark Anthony, and “Grandma” as I call her is what Liz makes between her two jobs. The state denied her application for social security many times. I know that when Marc Anthony comes to Buddy Ball every weekend that its making her life easier because he is happier.
When I was writing my ted talk, it was so hard to choose from all of these amazing stories about all of the children with disabilities that I know. All of the mountains that they climb every day astonishes me, but the true stars of Buddy Ball are the volunteers who wake up at 9 AM every Saturday to work with children, who refer to some of them as their best friends. Even though the work that the volunteers are doing might not sound that big, in the case of many children like Marc Anthony, even the little things count. Volunteering is important no matter what the scale is and everyone should know that even the smallest acts can make a difference in at least one person’s life.
No comments:
Post a Comment