DECEMBER 2021 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 59
SID JACOBSON JCC COMMUNITY NEEDS BANK YOUTH AMBASSADORS
BEACON OF LIGHT BY BRIANA BONFIGLIO
Since the coronavirus pandemic began,
there has been a greater need for acts
of kindness than most people have ever
seen. Seventeen students from the
North Shore rose to meet that need by
contributing to the Sid Jacobson JCC
(SJJCC)’s Community Needs Bank.
The Community Needs Bank started
in early 2019, one year before Covid-19
hit Long Island. It originally served
as a central food distribution site for
small, local pantries. The SJJCC off ered
roles to interns with special needs who
helped package and organize the food
and household items for the pantries.
But food insecurity took on “a new defi nition”
at the height of the pandemic, says
Susan Berman, director of SJJCC’s Center
for Community Engagement, which runs
the Community Needs Bank. Not only
did folks out of work suddenly have
little money for food, but those in need
were unable to visit food pantries
in person.
So the Bank, as it’s known among
the community, began a home delivery
service. Local families pitched
in with both donations and contactless
pickup and drop-off s so that those in need
were both safe and fed.
After this community initiative,
which involved getting parents and
their kids to help their neighbors, several
youths reached out to the SJJCC
asking how else they could help. They
embarked on all kinds of projects and
donation drives to fi ll boxes of food
and treats for the Bank to distribute to
families in need.
The 17 students, whom Berman has
named the Bank’s youth ambassadors,
will be honored at the SJJCC’s “Shine a
Light on Hunger” event on Dec. 9. The
youth, who range in age from 5 to 21
years old, are: Ryan Altman, Rebecca
Birnbaum, Ryan Buslik, Anna Dubner,
Jonah Glasman, Eliza Liebowitz, Sophie
Plotnitzky, Miles Posner, Sophie Rosenman,
Benjy Rubin, Remy Tauber, Ava
and
Lily Weinstein, Skylar Weitz, and
Cole, Drew, and Luke Jacklin.
“We call them our beacon of light,” Berman
says. “During a really dark time,
they were able to be a light for others.”
Some of the students’ projects included
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raising money for the Bank by
selling mask chains, holding donation
drives, delivering Shabbat meals to local
seniors, writing cards to families in need,
donating winter hats to a women’s shelter,
and helping seniors schedule Covid
vaccination appointments.
“All of the youth provided something
that we could give to people who were
getting packages from us,” Berman
says. “They felt that extra love, care
and connection, which was so much
more important during the pandemic.”
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(Courtesy SJJCC)
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