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May 7, 2010
Take action for tikkun olam
Youth raise funds and awareness with a double event.
REBECA KUROPATWA
In March, Jewish comedian Aaron Freeman performed with the Israeli-Palestinian Comedy troupe’s Punchlines for Peace event that filled Winnipeg’s West End Cultural Centre theatre. Winnipeg must not have seen enough of Freeman because he was invited back to town to speak about the value of hands-on tikkun olam at a benefit event organized by B’nai B’rith Youth Organization (BBYO) and Machon Madrichim.
Freeman’s life in inner-city Chicago turned around, he said, when he came into contact with young people who went outside their comfort zones. “Kids showed up in my Chicago inner-city neighborhood and opened my eyes to another way to live,” he said. “Just the fact they showed up – white people from the distant and exotic land of the suburbs – coming into our neighborhood, simply because they cared about us, made all the difference. This greatly expanded my horizons.”
In September, Freeman is traveling to Hungary, Turkey, Iran and Israel, where he will spend time in Jerusalem and Ramallah with Chicago’s Second City comedy group. There, Freeman will step outside his own comfort zone to conduct workshops on improvisational theatre with the hope of making a difference in the lives of others.
After Freeman’s talk, the event moved to the Jewish community centre’s gym for a game of wheelchair basketball. Proceeds from the event went toward earthquake relief for Haiti. Wheelchairs for the basketball game were provided by the Manitoba Wheelchair Sports Association and any attendees could participate in the game.
Josh Goldstein, a student at the Gray Academy of Jewish Education, and BBYO’s Dan Saidman came up with the idea for the event.
“A couple of years ago, we had a Disability Awareness Week at school, including a wheelchair basketball program,” Goldstein told the Independent. “When this school year started, we started planning it out.
“It was really important to me that we achieve a few things with this event – to raise money for Haiti, teach people what it’s like to live in a wheelchair, and raise awareness in a fun way. So, this was just regular, healthy people playing and having fun, and also learning a little of what it’s like to be in a wheelchair.
“I hope that the people who came out for the event gained a new understanding that every day, just sitting on the couch and watching TV, doing whatever, just doesn’t cut it,” said Goldstein. “There’s always someone in need we can be trying to help out at any moment. Just having the will to help is great, then all that’s needed is to go for it. In BBYO, community service is a big deal.”
Freeman told those gathered, “You can make such a tremendous difference just by showing up someplace people wouldn’t expect you to be, and being an example of other ways to live.”
Rebeca Kuropatwa is a Winnipeg freelance writer.
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