Community Service
ROAR (Reach Out And Read) is currently the most popular of the community service projects in which our Jewish students participate. ROAR, a program sponsored by the National Jewish Coalition for Literacy and locally by the United Jewish Federation, engages volunteer reading coaches to work in the local elementary schools. Students are paired with young children and meet with them on a weekly basis. The scheduling and transportation logistics are handled by the Hillel office.
Hillel sponsors a yearly Snow Ball for seniors in the community. Students plan the affair together with local agencies, procure door prizes and refreshments from local merchants, arrange entertainment, and then dance at the party.
In May 2009 about one dozen Hillel students participated in a community wide Darfur awareness event in Schenectady's Central Park. They planned, built and presented a refugee camp. This year we plan to continue a focus on Darfur by partnering with Jewish World Watch to raise money for solar cookers for families in the Sudan.
In October 2009 Hillel will have a team walking in the Albany Breast Cancer Walk coupled with some education. Ashkenazic Jewish women are at a higher risk for breast cancer compared to the general population.
For those who are interested in further opportunities for community service, Union's Kenney Center offers other options.