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July 29, 2005
U.S. teens come to Vancouver
American Jewish Society for Service is here to help build housing.
BAILA LAZARUS
Thirteen American Jewish teens will be getting a once-in-a-lifetime
experience in Canada this summer and making history as well. The
youth, aged 16-18, are volunteering for the American Jewish Society
for Service (AJSS) and, for the first time, the AJSS project is
taking place in Canada.
AJSS is an independent, nonprofit group that has been organizing
summer work programs since 1950. Its goal is to "give young
people an opportunity for serving their fellow men in need."
Projects usually involve the construction or repair of buildings.
So far, the AJSS has worked on 133 projects in almost every state
in the United States, as well as in Israel. This year, in addition
to construction projects in Oregon and Michigan, they connected
with Habitat for Humanity in Vancouver. The teens, along with two
counsellors and a project director, will be helping complete a group
of housing units on the Habitat site in Burnaby.
"My older brother did [AJSS] two years ago in South Dakota
and he said it was the best summer of his life, so I thought I should
probably try it," said Jeff Sherwin, 16, of Rhode Island. He
said he would usually be spending most of the summer at sports camps.
"I've been doing that for seven to eight years, so it's good
to have a change."
AJSS first connected with Habitat for Humanity's Vancouver office
last summer, when project director Paul Milkman and his wife were
travelling through Vancouver on their way home to New York from
Alaska. Milkman, who has been with AJSS for 13 summers, called the
office and spoke to executive director Anneke Rees to say he could
offer a group of teens to volunteer with Habitat five days a week
for six weeks. By the time he arrived in New York, Rees had called
to say the Habitat Vancouver board was very eager about the idea.
"I realized that with the past experience of AJSS and particularly
Paul and Cathy Milkman in working on these types of projects, they
would fit in really well with Habitat," said Rees, who helped
Milkman find accommodation for the group at a local private school,
put them in touch with Vancouver's Jewish community and discussed
activities for the group to do in Vancouver.
"They're very experienced at coming into a city and figuring
things out," Rees said of the Milkmans. "They had been
to Vancouver before for a couple of days, so it hasn't been difficult
to think of lots of ideas."
So far, the group has hiked Lynn Canyon, visited Stanley Park, taken
in the aquarium and art gallery, watched a Vancouver Canadians'
baseball game and seen the Vancouver Theatresports League. They
also spent Shabbat with Beth Tikvah Synagogue in Richmond and are
looking forward to any other opportunities to connect with local
Jewish organizations.
It's not meant to be a slacker vacation. The teens' days consist
of an early rise at 7 a.m. to be on the site by 8 a.m. They help
out with any type of construction needed, from installing pre-fab
walls to putting up scaffolding to finishing drywall.
"I got to use tools that a couple of weeks ago I was scared
to death of," said Sara Kruger, 17, of Montville, N.J., one
of four girls in the group. "I'm learning a lot, stuff that
I never thought I would be able to do."
Chelsey Kaplan of Long Island, N.Y., admitted she was "terrified."
"I thought the house would fall down on account of me,"
said the 16-year-old. But now, she says, "I find it so interesting.
It's so cool because I've never been on a construction site before."
Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization
seeking to eliminate poverty housing in Canada and around the world.
With volunteer labor and donations of money and materials, Habitat
for Humanity works with families in need – partner families
– to build or renovate simple, decent housing. The houses are
sold to the partner families at no profit and are financed with
affordable, no-interest mortgages. Homeowner families invest 500
hours of their own labor (sweat equity) into building their own
houses and the houses of other families.
Noah Appel of Belmont, Mass., thinks construction of this sort might
be his calling. He has done carpentry with his father before but
never on this large a scale.
"This has inspired me to look into carpentry, maybe right after
college – because I love doing it," said Appel.
A summer experience of this kind, working as a team on a building
site, can be very beneficial for the teens, Milkman said.
"I've seen kids find a motivation to channel their lives. I've
had kids who were campers with me who have decided to join the Peace
Corps and who have connected with Habitat or other volunteer activities
in their home communities.
"By living in a location completely different from the one
that they come from for six weeks, every one of them at least gets
exposed to a different way of life."
But Milkman cautions against sending kids to do the program against
their will.
"My single worst summer was in Maine and somehow half the group
had been forced to come by their parents," said Milkman. "That
was a disaster. The kids have to have some interest in coming, otherwise
it's not going to work."
That wasn't a problem for Dan Bennick of Hamden, Conn. Both Bennick's
father and brother went on the trip as teens. He was convinced to
join the program by seeing the effect it had.
"Mostly, it's not what they said, but I saw a change in my
brother after he came back from the trip," said Bennick, 16.
"He grew up and I kind of needed the same thing. I needed more
life experiences and I thought this would be a good one."
If your Jewish organization might be interested in hosting or sponsoring
the AJSS group for an event, contact Milkman at [email protected]
or 718-930-4932. For more information on volunteering with Habitat
for Humanity, visit www.vancouverhabitat.bc.ca
or call 604-681-5618.
Baila Lazarus is a freelance writer, photographer and
illustrator living in Vancouver.
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