Juniors Volunteer at Area Homeless Shelters

What is life like for a homeless person?

Eleventh graders found out while volunteering at three Baltimore city homeless shelters on January 8th. After hearing High School guidance counselor Mrs. Rochelle Sullivan and fellow student Joey S. ’17 share their respective experiences spending time with the homeless, the students departed for their volunteer destinations.

“The purpose of program was to bring students together outside of school to see a world outside of their daily lives—to step outside of their comfort zone as a class, reach out to Baltimore’s underserved population and make a difference in other people's lives together,” explains Mrs. Sullivan, who led a group at Manna House, where the students eagerly packed snack bags for school-age children, sorted clothing and toiletries, and cleaned the walls and floors. “They worked together as a cohesive group that made a difference in so many people's lives. Many of our BT kids expressed an interest in going to help at Manna on a regular basis!”

Coach Creeger ’03 accompanied students visiting veterans at the Baltimore VA Medical Center, an outpatient rehab living facility. “They visited patients from all different divisions of the military, asked them about their service and their memories, and listened to their stories and advice,” reports Coach Creeger. “The students found it to be a meaningful experience and were told that their visit means a lot to the veterans since most of them don't get a lot of visitors.”

Mr. Lavie and Rabbi Moss’s group delivered more than a dozen boxes of donated winter supplies to Baltimore Service Station, which they collected at BT in the two days prior to their visit. While there, the group heard “a beautiful lesson about resilience from a 62-year old veteran who had been on and off of drugs and remained upbeat and fighting to regain control of his life,” shares Rabbi Moss. But before they even stepped off the bus, they already made a kiddush Hashem – sanctification of God’s name – when the bus driver remarked to Mr. Lavie about how impressed he is with the Jewish community “and specifically with our students, who always volunteer and give so much to the community around them. We need more people like you in the world!”

Read Joey S. '17's personal reflections on his volunteering experiences.