by Avi Schneider
On October 16, 2013, the 12th graders of Weinbaum Yeshiva High School in Boca Raton did community service for Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit organization that offers affordable home ownership opportunities to hardworking and worthy families all around the world. This organization relies on volunteers and donations of money, building supplies and property, but Habitat for Humanity does not build houses and just give them away to any random person who needs a house. A potential homeowner has to qualify for an interest-free mortgage, make a small down payment and put in 400 hundred hours of “sweat equity” to help build their own home and others just like it.
These prospective families are additionally required to attend workshops on home maintenance, financial management and related issues to prepare them for the responsibility of owning a house. The students of WYHS worked in the community of Ocean Breeze, which already hosts ten to twelve beautiful Habitat for Humanity-built houses with plans for three more to be built in the not-too-distant future.
Habitat for Humanity strives to make sure their houses are well built and structured as they are all hurricane proof with all plumbing, air-conditioning and other amenities made to be above standard. The students did multiple jobs on the Ocean Breeze property. Some painted and built mailboxes while others organized pipes and pieces of wood to be used for a future home. Other students cleaned up the main street that goes through the community, helped move drywall, and some even got the chance to use a nail gun that would help support a house in its early stages. Whatever tasks the students did, whether it was big or small, the students knew that this was helping very deserving families get the chance to have a home.
Celebrating the ideals of Ahavat Yisrael (tolerance), Tikkun Olam (communal responsibility) and Medinat Yisrael (the modern state of Israel), Weinbaum Yeshiva High School in Boca Raton is a renowned Jewish orthodox, college preparatory high school, renowned as one of the finest academic institutions of its kind in the nation.
WYHS’ mission is to…
Inspire its students to make a life-long commitment to Jewish values, learning and observance, and to view all disciplines and pursuits through the prism of Torah.
Challenge its students with an excellent college and yeshiva preparatory program, enabling them to gain admission to and succeed at the finest institutions of higher learning.
Our Values are…
Torat Yisrael Devotion to Jewish law and observance
Ahavat Yisrael Embracing all Jews
Kavod HaBriyot Respecting all human beings
Tikkun Olam Contributing to the community
Our Philosophy
“The creation of the State of Israel is one of the seminal events in Jewish history. Recognizing the significance of the State and its national institutions, we seek to instill in our students an attachment to the State of Israel and its people as well as a sense of responsibility for their welfare.”
Working with Habitat Humanity was truly a meaningful experience. Not only did we help build houses, but we also learned more about the people who will live in them. Whether painting a mailbox, unloading tools, or physically building the foundation of a home, students interacted with people in need of a Habitat for Humanity home. We were told that in order to be eligible for a Habitat for Humanity home, one must work a certain amount of hours helping build others’ homes in order to eventually obtain their own. Seeing the hard work these people put into others homes, while balancing families and part time jobs, really put things in perspective for the students. After only a few hours, all the students were exhausted, but we left with the biggest smiles on our faces. The chesed (charity) day proved to be a relevant and rewarding event for all. Maybe Mr. Swift will take us back!
Volunteering for Habitat For Humanity was definitely the right decision. Just a year ago I spent a couple of hours in the boiling heat painting a garage in the community of Ocean Breeze, the host to twelve homes built by Habitat for Humanity and its volunteers. Just last week I returned to the same community to volunteer once more. As I arrived in this familiar area, I saw the house that I worked on last year. However, now it was complete and beautiful. I even got a chance to meet the grateful homeowner! It was incredible to see the impact of my previous actions.
A few days ago, alongside my entire grade, I pulled out pipes from under a trailer, dragged them across a field, and organized them by size. Even though it felt hard, tedious, and pointless, I knew that ultimately it would aid in the building of a new house for a worthy family. I strongly recommend volunteering for this wonderful non-profit organization.
Noam Genet
Habitat for humany is an amazing organization and I’m so glad I took part in it. Helping to build a house with my fellow classmates was not only a fun experience but it taught me the meaning of hard work and outreach. It made me more aware of my surroundings and gave me the opportunity to take that awareness and spread to other people. Since this experience, I’ve continued to use outreach as powerful tool in many other volunteer trips. For example, I now volunteer to watch the little kids in my local synagogue every Saturday morning. This trip has taught me so much about hard work, volunteering, and outreach!
Being a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity was an incredibly lifting (literally and figuratively) experience. Going through almost four years of high school and in our senior year building a house really defines what our school is about, find something that needs help and help it. Whether it is through building a house, tutoring a fellow student, or filling the need of an innovative Jewish Sports Magazine, every Weinbaum student knows what it takes to give back. We are incredibly fortunate for the school to give us this opportunity. We look forward to giving back to the needy communities and to continue to uplift our spiritual souls.
Visit http://www.japthemag.com
Follow us on Facebook: JAPtheMag
Follow us on Twitter: @JAPtheMag
After reading this article I am truly inspired. I, too, am a student of the WYHS high school, and, after reading this, I am proud of my friends who participated in this wonderful act of kindness. Habitat for Humanity is an incredible organization, and I love the work the Habitat for Humanity does. I hope that our school will continue to be involved in this organization and others like it.