Give Of Yourself

Volunteerism from the heart makes our community a family.

here is no shortage of volunteer spirit
in America. More than 90 million
Americans volunteer more than 20
billion hours a year. I suspect that if data
were available for the Jewish community in
isolation, it would be more impressive still.
Believe it or not, some folks argue that
this volunteerism is not a good thing. They
point out the waste of productivity when a
"$500-a-day accountant is doing $5-an-hour
labor." They say, "Give the money instead
and let the organization hire a bundle of $S-
an-hour people with it."
Let me explain the flaw in their reasoning:
Every day, every "$500-a-day accountant"
does for himself or his family things that
could have been done by someone else for
$5. Someone else could have chosen that
new car in the garage. Someone else could
have done the homework with the kids.
Someone else could have taken the time to
visit Mom and Dad last Sunday. Someone
else could have made the chicken dinner
that the family so appreciated last night.
The point is this: there's something about
us that can't be measured in dollars and
cents. And that's what you give when you
volunteer.
When people volunteer, that's when a
community becomes a family. Because
people are giving something of themselves
that usually only their family gets to see.
That's what the Torah is talking about when
it says "Love your fellow as yourself"
Nobody loves themselves with their money
alone. We love ourselves with ourselves.
In fact, as the first Lubavitcher rebbe
explains in Tanya, real brotherhood is not

possible if we measure
each other in material
terms. True friendship
and community is only
possible when we connect
from the inside.
As someone who has
founded and runs a
Rabbi Levi
volunteer organization
Shemtov
with more than 360
weekly volunteers, I see firsthand the benefit
of volunteerism — not only to the person
who receives the help but also to the
volunteer.
I've seen the look on an elderly woman's
face when a sleek, shiny car pulls up with a
friendly young gentleman to help her to a
doctor's appointment. I've seen people,
otherwise isolated, brought into the circle of
an extended family. I've seen children with
special needs bond with a caring teenager,
who becomes that big brother or sister they
so badly need. And I've seen those
volunteers discover warmth in their hearts
that they never knew they had.
These are things no amount of money
could buy. They happened because people
gave of themselves, not just from their
wallets.
We appreciate whatever donations you
make. But there's something more we need
as well — your hands, your feet, your face,
your mind, your heart and your soul.
Because once you've given us all that, then
you and I and all of us become what Jewish
people are meant to be to each other: One
big, caring family. [

COMMUNAL LIFE

& Public Affairs

Agency for Jewish Education

6735 Telegraph Road, Suite 370
Bloomfield Twp., MI 48301
(248) 645-7860
Fax: (248) 645-7867
Email: krivchen@ajedetroit.org
Contact Person: Ellen Krivchenia

Provides educational resources, consultation and
support services and innovative programming for
congregations and other educational institutions in
metropolitan Detroit. Services target children, teens,
adults, families and children with special needs.

American Arab and
Jewish Friends

975 E. Jefferson Ave.
Detroit, MI 48207
(313) 567-6225
Fax: (313) 259-9434

Our mission is to improve understanding and
friendship between the Arabic and Jewish
communities of metropolitan Detroit by celebrating
similarities and unique differences. All who
support this mission are welcome.

American Jewish Committee -
AJC

6735 Telegraph Road, Suite 320
Bloomfield Twp., MI 48301
(248) 646-7686
(248) 646-7687
Fax: (248) 646-7688
Email: Detroit@ajc.org
Website: www.ajc.org
Contact Person: Sharona Shapiro

Protects the rights and freedoms of Jews the
world over, works for the security of Israel,
advocates democratic values in public policy and
strengthens Jewish identity.

Rabbi Levi Shemtov founded and is director of the Friendship Circle, a group

that matches teen volunteers with special-needs youngsters in the community.

Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
Michigan Region

4000 Town Center, Suite 420

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