Alternative Winter Break Getting Down to Business

By Year Round Programs
IMG_0281
Matan and friends after some hard work at St. Bernard Project

Today was a morning of rebuilding. Last night was settling and learning a bit about New Orleans, but today we got down to business. My group went to work with the St. Bernard Project. SBP rebuilds houses destroyed ten years ago that were destroyed in hurricane Katrina. So as I was saying we went to work on a house that was destroyed in Katrina. We met our instructors named Heidi and Ben. They taught us about dry wall and how to install it. It was extremely hard work. Also, using a drill was extremely hard. What added to the difficulty was the heat. It took the 7 of us a while to get a hang of it but we got three in. In doesn’t sound like that much, but it is. I feel as if the hard work payed off though in more ways than one. Just the thought that we are helping build a home for someone. This where someone will call theirs. There is no place like home. It also payed off because we went to see the Pelicans game afterwards which was a dream come true.

~ Matan Berman – 10th Grade, Atlanta, GA

recommended posts

Year Round Programs A complicated time to be a teen

By Erica Cohen, Director of Teen Education “We have to take back Zionism…don...

Year Course Take a Gap Year to Israel Now? Convince me!

By Adina Frydman, CEO Young Judaea Global There are great reasons to consider ta...

Alumni YJ Supplement for the Pesach Haggadah

Given the war in Israel,  we acknowledge that this Passover is radically differ...