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Aug. 25, 2006
Helping youngsters in need
NCJW programs alleviate stress of poverty in inner-city schools.
TRUDE LABOSSIERE HUEBNER
Grandview School has become a local example of service and social
action for the Vancouver section of the National Council of Jewish
Women (NCJW).
Located on Vancouver's east side at Woodland Drive and Grandview
Highway, Grandview/Uuqinak'uh School faces many challenges. Fifty
per cent of the students are of First Nations origin and about one-quarter
of the remaining students are from China, Vietnam, the former Yugoslavia,
Mexico and Nicaragua.
Four current NCJW projects support children in the Grandview area:
the Visions After-School program, Wellness program, Books for Kids
and Operation DressUp.
"Many of the children do not have adult supervision after school,"
said Esther Brauer, co-chair of the NCJW social action committee.
"It may be a single-parent family, or a two-parent family with
both parents at work. These children have very little experience
outside of their families and neighborhood."
Brauer has volunteered for the past six years at Grandview, assisting
in the classroom with children who have a variety of special needs.
A highlight, she said, is when "a light gets turned on"
for children who have been strugging with reading.
The Visions After-School program is intended to broaden the horizons
for students in grades 4 to 7.
Elana Winrob has been active in Visions both as a volunteer and
paid leader. Winrob is from the NCJW's developing young group. She
is the granddaughter of past-president Shirley Kort and daughter
of life member Bev Kort.
"At first, Visions was more like a day care," said Winrob.
"Then we began to teach about social responsibility and learning
to work together. This past year, we had separate sections for boys
and girls where we could work on building confidence and leadership
skills."
Winrob is leaving Visions this year to attend medical school at
University College, Dublin, but she will carry with her memories
of what she described as the highlight of this past year.
"We spent the day writing nice things about each other, both
children and leaders," she recalled, "and placing them
in a paper bag we brought home with us. I could tell the kids what
I thought about them, and they gave me feedback."
This past year, NCJW added support to Grandview's new Wellness program,
which was established when school staff recognized that many of
their students had little knowledge of personal hygiene or the growth
and development of their bodies in general. NCJW developed a curriculum
to meet those needs, including a dental hygiene project in co-operation
with students from the University of British Columbia School of
Dentistry. NCJW contributed funds so that each student in grades
4 to 6 could receive a package of necessary supplies to improve
their dental and personal hygiene. Staff say it was so successful
that they hope to repeat it for the entire school.
Each year, parents and children race to buy fresh wardrobes for
the start of school in September. For low-income families, there
often isn't enough stretch left in the budget. This is where Operation
DressUp comes in. For several years, NCJW has collected gently used,
stylish clothing for school-aged boys and girls from its members
and from clothing drives in more affluent public and private schools.
The clothing is then distributed to students at Grandview and other
inner-city schools. On designated dates, grateful parents and children
come to the schools and select what their families want.
"We accept clothing for children as young as three years and
up to high school age," said Sarah Marel-Schaffer, NCJW co-ordinator
for Operation DressUp. "We also accept cash, so we can purchase
new socks and underwear for the children."
Marel-Schaffer and fellow co-ordinator Sandy Switzer will come to
your home and pick up laundered, donated clothing. The two women
took over the project last year from Shelagh Stoller and Sally Berry,
who developed the project when NCJW's social action committee first
saw the need about 12 years ago.
NCJW's Thelma Ginsberg section started Books for Kids about 10 years
ago. The group collects used children's books throughout the year
and distributes them to young children who may not have books of
their own at home. Even the youngest child benefits; community health
nurses bring NCJW donated new board books with them when they visit
newborn babies in at-risk families. The board books are purchased
by NCJW at a discount from Vancouver Kids Books.
These efforts to alleviate the negative effects of child poverty
at Grandview and other inner-city schools is one way in which Jewish
women, through NCJW, carry out their vision of tikkun olam
(repairing the world). Funding for the Visions program has been
in co-operation with the B.C. Gaming Commission.
For more information on NCJW's service programs or to donate books,
clothing or a tax-deductible gift, please contact the NCJW office
at 604-257- 5180.
Trude LaBossiere Huebner is a Vancouver freelance writer.
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