Port Parents on A UJA Mission on Martin Luther King Day

Martin Luther King, Jr., has said, “Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'" The spirit of helping others is alive and well in Port Washington.

This Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday weekend, five Port Washington parents from  are with their 11-to-14-year-old children on a charitable mission coordinated via the UJA Federation. They are keeping their resolutions to parent by example and give their children the lasting impressions on the importance of philanthropy by partaking in the ongoing restoration effort in Biloxi, Mississippi, and New Orleans, Louisiana, left by the devastation by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Hurricane Katrina may seem like a blast from the past but the recovery effort is ongoing.

The families are visiting the Louisiana State Museum exhibit, Living with Hurricanes: Katrina and Beyond. They are meeting with local leaders and families in New Orleans and Biloxi to learn more about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. They are volunteering at The St. Bernard Project in Mississippi, a nonprofit, community-based organization, to create housing opportunities, so survivors can return to their homes and communities. They are also sorting, packing and delivering items to families at the Children’s Health Fund of Mississippi.

"Rather than telling my children about the importance of helping others, this weekend’s UJA mission is a special opportunity for my son to live the Jewish concept of 'Tikun Olam' [healing the world],” said Port parent, Stacey Satovsky, a mother of three.

That sentient was shared by Port parent Deena Katz, a mother of four. “Participating in community service with your kids is a transformative experience and them seeing how much it means to others firsthand is priceless,” Katz said.

Katz remembers the positive impact upon her daughter from a 2010 UJA mission in Atlanta and upon the 20 women who joined her in 2009 on a four-day UJA community service mission in Rhode Island where she coordinated projects including framing out a house with Habitat of Humanity.

Every act of community service leaves Katz wanting to do more and to do so with her children. This feeling along with the overwhelming feedback from parents seeking meaningful Mitzvah projects for their families was plenty for Bari Ziegel, VP Member Services at The Community Synagogue and Development Executive at the UJA, to coordinate this weekend’s UJA mission to the Gulf Coast Region.

These Port parents and their children regularly volunteer “as part of their lifestyles,” said Julie Kramer, a mother of two. Kramer was referring to visiting soup kitchens, foster care, senior centers and packing gifts and food for families in need.

Satovsky learned about this mission and stays informed of charitable opportunities through “Connections,” a UJA group providing Long Island Jewish families with various educational and hands-on volunteer activities for the whole family. 

“It is more important for my children to see that we give time to do things to help others, – as opposed to just writing a check, which helps a great deal – but it is my hope that by being more hands on, my children will have a better understanding of the world,” noted Mara Silverstein, a mother of three, who serves as vice president of Mitzvah Projects at The Community Synagogue.

Dina Adsetts, a mother of three, is thrilled to take her 14-year-old son as “it is a meaningful opportunity to help people in a very personal way, learn more about the problems in the Gulf Coast region, spend some special time with my son all while having a great time with friends. Honestly, we'd be crazy not to go!”

When your children start seeing charitable missions through the eyes of compassion the way Katz’s tween daughter Danielle does “as ways to participate because it makes me happy to help others” as opposed to Mitzvah project “requirements” or mandatory time with parents, that is truly achieving Tikun Olam.

The UJA also offers many opportunities for families to engage in charitable missions in New York. 

On Monday, Jan. 17, Martin Luther King Day, a group of families with children ages 10 and up from The Community Synagogue are taking a trip to the Met Council on Jewish Poverty’s Kosher Food Pantry Warehouse to help pack food for distribution to needy families. 

To learn more about the UJA Federation, its upcoming events and missions, contact Bari Ziegel, Development Executive, UJA-Federation of New York/Long Island - 516-677-1830, ziegelb@ujafedny.org.