#rtwnyc

The first time I went to East New York to work with my service partner Digital Girl Inc was a shock. My experience in upper middle class south Florida schools could not have been more different than the reality of the students I would be engaging with for the next 9 months of their school year. Metal detectors to enter the building, armed security guards, social workers sitting in on each class. I felt so out of place after my first day that I sat down with my city director Cindy and expressed my concerns about if I should return or if I should find a new school to go to. Cindy, as usual, supported either decision I made and suggested giving the school one more chance. So I went again, and this time when I walked in one of the quieter girls from the class greeted me by name, and a boy asked me if I wanted to hear his newest rap. Since then, I’ve continued to go back. Each week I am both challenged by the students and also taught by them in ways I never expected.

The students at FDNY High School became a group of people I really care about over time through conversations about their lives at home, and I tried my best to talk up college and trade schools. The volunteers I brought to the school each week would be intimidated at first, but all of them would say the same thing after - that seeing the relationship and my interactions with the students made them feel more comfortable.

       RTW fellow Jon Cohen poses with Broward College Hillel and Digital Girl volunteers before teaching students how to code.  

It was with all of this in mind that when 4 students from the alternative break I was leading asked if they could join me at FDNY (on their day off!) that I easily agreed to it. Upon our arrival the woman in charge of behavior at the school informed me that the daily snacks for my class were taken away, due to a few students taking them and throwing them at police officers from the third window. I looked at my volunteers to see their reaction and they remained professional and calm, looking to me for a reaction. I paired the volunteers with students and watched over as two different parts of the job meshed together seamlessly. An hour of selfies, sports talk, and computer coding passed quickly and it was time to go.

As we entered the subway station to return to the workshop I noticed that there were a lot of people standing back against the wall and some sort of physical altercation happening. This wasn’t an uncommon occurrence after school so at first I just brought the volunteers closer to me and continued on. Almost immediately after I made the decision to move on I realized that the conflict was between one of my students, Mike*, and two police officers. Aware that the 5 of us were the only non-black people in the station, I looked to my volunteers and said “I think this is something I need to get involved in.” They looked at me and took a step back. I knew Mike through Digital Girl, and was worried about his safety and that he was being targeted. I spotted another one of my students and asked him what was going on. He told me that the police officers accused Mike of starting a fire on the tracks and wouldn’t let him leave. When I walked up to one of the officers and asked, “Is everything alright officer?” they told me someone had started a fire and they were asking questions. Then I explained that Mike was one of my students and asked if he was the one who started the fire, to which an officer responded by saying they didn’t know who it was. At this point Mike said they had accused him and held him against the wall. I wasn’t sure what I would be able to do to change the situation, so I asked the police if Mike was being arrested or detained and they said no. I took a chance and asked the police if I could leave the scene and take Mike with me and they nodded.

I left with my volunteers and students on the next train. I had ridden the train with students in the past, but they’d never sat with me or talked to me besides a quick hello. After the incident, Mike sat with the volunteers and me and told them about life as a “perceived” troublemaker. As he got off the train and said he would see me next week, he used my name.

         Jon and elementary Digital Girl students at PS 21

Looking back on this experience which happened a few weeks ago, I realize that I lived an experience first hand which Repair the World has trained the fellows for since the beginning. That is: to truly understand your own privilege, you have to confront the realities of others’. In order to be able to step in for my student at that moment, I needed the trust and credibility on his end, which I have earned by building relationships with Mike and other high school students. I would not have been able to do that if I hadn’t appreciated how important it is to show up for and get to know the individuals I work with.

*Names have been changed in this story to protect the identity of the students

I’ve never thought of myself as a great event planner or tour guide. I’m the kind of person who just goes with the flow when it comes to laying out my schedule. When it came time for me to plan and organize an alternative break, I was terrified. Not only did I have to plan a schedule for myself, I also had to do it for 12 young men from Zeta Beta Tau fraternity who had little to no experience in traveling through NYC.

       ZBT brothers prepare a meal at the East New York Club House earlier in          the week (photo by Shannon Ferguson)

When they arrived in Crown Heights, I wanted to give them a small neighborhood tour of the community; that in itself was a challenge. I’ve only lived here for 6 months and still haven’t seen all of Crown Heights. As we walked down Nostrand and Kingston Avenues, I became aware of how special Crown Heights is through the eyes of those who were seeing it for the first time. There is this unique mix of Black, Caribbean, and Jewish cultures coming together with a new generation of residents and it’s amazing to witness.

I grew up in Rhode Island where the Jewish community was pretty small. There was not the same type of strong Jewish presence that there is in Crown Heights. While walking through the neighborhood the students from the alternative break asked an interesting question, “How do these communities live together?”

This question sparked a conversation about the history of these communities, which led me to tell them about the Crown Heights Riots of 1991 and how the communities were not always so pleasant to each other. I briefly told them about the cross-cultural violence in the past and how the Crown Heights Mediation Center was founded on the premise of managing tensions and addressing disputes between the Black, Carribbean, and Jewish communities.

         ZBT brothers color smaller versions of the “One Crown Heights” mural              with smaller versions of Crown Heights community members (photo by              Alli Lesovoy)

Later that day I led an info session about the Crown Heights Riots to set more context for the community which the alternative break students were serving in. Afterwards, the alternative break group and I volunteered at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum to paint for Groundswell’s “One Crown Heights” mural. This mural is important because it was designed to incorporate people within all of the communities within Crown Heights, black, white, and Jewish. Community members were encouraged to help bring peace to the neighborhood by creating art together in this project. Council Member Laurie Cumbo of the 35th district even stopped by to paint part of the mural and talk about what it means for the community. When I was watching different families from all parts of the neighborhood come by to paint this mural full of diversity, it made me think again how special Crown Heights is, and how lucky I am to live here this year. It is a neighborhood with a past scarred by conflict, and now these same communities have found a way to work towards peace and heal the damaged past by working with each other to literally paint a better future for their neighborhood. I’m glad I was able to learn from this experience along with the brothers of ZBT who spent a week in service to the neighborhood.

      ZBT brothers and RTW fellows pose with a nearly completed piece of               the “One Crown Heights” mural (photo by Hana Elwell) 

Valentine’s Day can be super exciting if you have a significant other, or kind of depressing if like me, you don’t. When I found out that Brooklyn Community Services was going to have a toiletry giveaway celebration for the women at Transitional Living Community on that day, I was really excited to participate for multiple reasons. I had been wanting to visit the shelter since I learned about it, and I knew this project would give me plans on a day that might otherwise be spent eating chocolate alone on my couch while watching romcoms. TLC is a 40 bed section of the Brooklyn Women’s Shelter in East New York, Brooklyn, which is an amazing resource because it provides low-income, homeless, and mentally ill women with temporary shelter and assists them in securing permanent housing.

On the morning of Valentine’s Day, Pnina and I arrived early to the shelter and were excited to discover that the schools, religious institutions, and businesses that collected had been so generous! The house manager was delighted by how many people had even thought to donate feminine hygiene products, which are very expensive and extremely necessary to have on hand for all women. Here’s an article about some of the extra challenges women struggling with homelessness face in regards to hygiene.

Volunteers organize donations (picture by Kent Victor)

The 20 volunteers who came were tasked with going through and sorting a large pile of toiletries. It was a little rough at first due to the number of volunteers and amount of items we had to organize onto one table. After about 20 minutes though, everyone fell into a rhythm and people were tossing mini shampoo bottles and deodorant to others at the side of the table where someone would catch them and put them in the right stack. It was high energy and a lot of fun! When we were halfway finished with sorting and packaging the items half of the volunteers went to play bingo and do some other activities with the residents, while the rest of us finished putting together the care packages.

Volunteers packaging toiletries into V-Day gift bags! (photo by Shannon Ferguson)

The morning led up to a pizza lunch celebration, where volunteers handed out the care packages with cards that had been previously made by other volunteers at various service projects. Many of the women started looking through their care packages, trading this and that, and joking with one another. So many hugs, handshakes, and smiles were exchanged between everyone in the room. You could really feel the love.

Finished care packages! (photo by Kent Victor)

My favorite part of the day took place during our closing activity. In the spirit of V-Day, we all went around and introduced ourselves to the circle, sharing something that we loved with one another. Between the volunteers and the residents, there were many common answers. People said they loved their kids, their family, music, spending time with people, and a few even said they love LOVE! When we got the the last resident, you could tell she was a matriarch of sorts. She was older than most of the others, and had a comfortable yet important and confident way of holding herself in her seat. When she used her turn to say, “I just love cheesecake”, the room erupted with laughter. I’ll never forget that moment. At the end of the day, I left with a happy heart, feeling like we had been able spread a little love, and received some of it too.

RTW Fellow Jon Cohen leads service learning for the Muslims Against Hunger food preparation event on 1.18.16

Have you ever said a word so many times in a row that it became abstract? I have. Being a Repair the World fellow I've heard the word "community" a lot. Whether it be the Jewish community, the Caribbean community, the Hasidic community, the communal living we do, etc. But this word is not like other words, because community isn't something you define, it is something you sense and feel.

A word that seems to start off as abstract.

Before the fellowship started I did some research about Crown Heights and where I would be spending 11 months of my life. When we pulled up to our storefront on Nostrand Avenue on August 22nd, I can honestly say that I couldn't imagine myself ever being considered part of this community.

Here I was - a 22 year old, Jewish, nonblack, gay man from South Florida. What did I have in common with an Afro-Caribbean community dealing with gentrification and a society that oppresses them? I still don't have all the answers, and I don't think I ever will. But the answer I do have is that love and solidarity is what we can all have in common.

Some of the fellows pose together at an MLK Shabbat Supper About Racial Justice, the kick off to a weekend of service in BK

So, what is community? Community is when the woman who sells hats on our street corner teamed up with the cashier at the knickknack shop next door to get a package for me when The Workshop was closed. Community is when I found myself in a room with the cashier from my favorite restaurant, a man I met at the art gallery visiting the RTW workshop, and a volunteer from one of our partner organizations and found out they were all brothers. To which one of them said "yeah we all blood" and brought me into a group hug. Community is when a woman approached me at our MLK Shabbat Supper and said "I know Aliya and she told me I had to come tonight and I had to give you a hug for her." Aliya being a woman I met while volunteering with CityHarvest and Weeksville Heritage Center for 6 weeks. Community is also looking around at a table of my fellow Fellows and tearing up, because I am overwhelmed with being surrounded by people who inspire me this much.

I could go on and on with anecdotes like the ones I've already mentioned, but instead I will just finish with - I feel welcome to Repair the World, I feel welcome to Crown Heights, I feel welcome to OUR community.

1) Can you tell me a little about yourself and how you got involved in Repair The Word?

Hey, I’m Pnina! I’m from Columbus, Ohio and I went to Stern College for Women where I studied psychology and biology. I really wanted to do a year of service before going to grad school, and the Repair the World fellowship program offers the best of what I wanted from this year- a social justice, service-oriented program built on a foundation of Jewish values-in Brooklyn!

2) What's a typical day like for you/. (you can mention the morning meeting, event planning, and obviously reading partners)

Everyday is so drastically different! Each morning starts with a team meeting, where we plan upcoming events and service projects, as well as setting intentions for the day. After that, the day could branch into many different directions: a meeting with someone interested in getting involved with Repair, going to a community event, or planning a training for the fellows. My favorite part of Repair is volunteering at Reading Partners three times a week, where I tutor elementary school kids in literacy.

3) Can you give some more information about reading partners (talk about how people can get involved)

Reading Partners is THE BEST. It is a national non-profit that designates classrooms in public schools for volunteers to work one-on-one with students to help them improve their reading skills. Reading Partners uses an easy to follow, effective, and fun curriculum, so even if the idea of teaching a student is terrifying, they make it super easy for you. Having one student that you work with every week also allows you to form a real connection with your student, and I’m kind of obsessed with mine. I am looking for tutors to join me on Wednesdays in Bed-Stuy for an hour of tutoring each week at 1, 1:45, and 2:45pm (email me!).

4) Where is your favorite place to spend time in Brooklyn?

I’m addicted to coffee, so I’ve been exploring different coffee shops in Crown Heights. I spend A LOT of time (and money) at Lula Bagel and Manhattanville Coffee, but let me know what you suggest!

Hungry? Come Nosh on a Hot Meal of Dignity and Love with Masbia!

How beautiful a world we live in when a soup kitchen is not merely a soup kitchen - it is an environment created to serve those in need a hot meal and, most importantly, dignity. As Alex Rapaport, co-founder and Executive Director at Masbia, puts it, everything his organization does it out of nothing but pure love for humanity.

When volunteering last Sunday with Base Hillel, an incredible non-profit founded and led by Rabbi Jon and Faith Leener that all millennials should check out, I had an incredible and unforgettable conversation with two of their frequent patrons, a son and mother duo. The son expressed how while his family is financially stable enough to keep food consistently on the table, they are not able to regularly go out to eat at a restaurant because of the expense. He told me with the structure of Masbia being free, restaurant-style meals with a host, waiter/waitress, and great service by their volunteers, he is able to treat his mother by taking her to a meal out and having someone serve her, rather than her making her own meals all the time. The mother did not speak English, but he translated to her what he told me and she burst into smile and nodded in agreement.

For him and his mother, it is not about the food that is the key to Masbia - even with it being delicious (thanks to Head Chef Ruben Diaz!) - it is about the restorative dignity that is being served. With so many hard workers living New York, we all deserve some sort of catering to ourselves. The staff of Masbia does such a beautiful job filling this need for all New Yorkers and for that I would like to say thank you!

Everyone is welcomed into the restaurant with open arms and love is always in there at Masbia! Come feel the love and volunteer! Learn more at http://www.masbia.org/ 

If you’re interested in volunteering, please feel free to reach me at [email protected]!

New York Cares Day Fall is a day, in the fall, when people from New York show that they care.  RTW NYC had the opportunity to volunteer at PS 335/MS 584 Granville T. Woods School.  The volunteers were split up into a bunch of teams, working on painting murals, painting fences, and cleaning out storage closets.  The mural team created beautiful pictures and wrote inspiring quotes in the bathrooms.  My team cleaned out a closet that was so full of books and furniture, that when we started, we could not open the door all of the way.

Reflecting on the day there were two amazing things that I wanted to note:

It is SO HARD to volunteer in schools!  There is a lot of red tape, and for good reason.  It is important for children to both feel safe and be safe in schools.  In New York State, any volunteer who comes in contact with a student must have a criminal background check.  It is great to have a partner like NYCares, that has the capacity to coordinate this day to happen in an accessible way for both seasoned and rookie volunteers.

We were actually helping.  This might sound a little absurd, but I have seen too many volunteer projects that are not grounded in the needs of the community, as determined by the community.  Several of the teachers from PS 335/MS 584 joined us in the day of service.  As we cleared out closets full of unsorted books, the principal and vice principal helped us sort the books into which ones could still be used, and which were out of date.  One teacher found extra copies of the science textbook that she uses with her students.  We carried them up to her classroom together.

I also got to learn about a new type of school that I had never heard of before (probably because I am a Food Justice Fellow).  PS 335/MS 584 is a Community School, which means that they look to “implement policies and programs that recognize and support the social, emotional, physical and academic needs of students.”  Here are a some of the signs of a healthy community school:

Mental health, medical, and social services are available to students who need them.

Community members are engaged in activities that help build a stronger school community.

Family members have access to educational opportunities and programs that strengthen families.

I can’t speak to how effective the program model is, but it sounds like they are trying to take care of the whole student in a way that most schools profess to do, but need to work on.

Thanks so much to the teachers and administrators of PS 335/MS 584 for welcoming us into their school with such enthusiasm. From the Repair The World fellows, we wish the best to your students for the rest of the year and beyond!

For more photos, check out  https://www.facebook.com/RepairTheWorldNYC/posts/779846692143307

Monday 9/7