Holocaust Museum and Learning Center

Monday afternoon I finally found time to visit the Holocaust Museum and Learning Center that is housed in the Jewish Federation Building below the JCRC's offices.  I spent nearly an hour and a half wandering through the silent exhibit.  I was lucky to have the entire museum to myself and took my time, reading each caption carefully.  Although I had visited the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. when I was younger, I do not think I was old enough then to fully comprehend and understand the content and information the museum presented.  The museum in the Federation Building, although much smaller, provided information about the Holocaust that I had yet to come across in my reading or in a history class.

The museum was set up in chronological order, making it easy for me to see the gruesome progression of the Nazis regime and the affect it had on the Jewish population.  The photographs and artifacts contained in the museum presented a startling reality that cannot be contained in books or even movies that attempt to commemorate and explain this horrific era in history.  I was impressed by the vast number of pieces contained in the museum that had been contributed by members of the St. Louis community.  Although I am coming to understand that St. Louis has a large and contributing Jewish population, I also perceive St. Louis as one of the smaller metropolitan areas not only in the Mid-West but also in the United States.  The sheer fact that a community the size of St. Louis can contribute this vast amount of information from the Holocaust is proof of the vast reaches this event has had on the world. 

Because I am not Jewish, this semester at the JCRC has been a learning experience as well as an interfaith opportunity for me.  I have appreciated the personal look into the Jewish community and culture of St. Louis.  My visit to the Holocaust exhibit was an addition to the wealth of knowledge I have been allowed to collect this semester and was a solemn reminder of a sad era of history.   

    

JAMDOS

It's somehow already the Monday after Thanksgiving Break, signifying the start of my final two weeks at the JCRC as well as the beginning of a few very busy weeks for everyone else here.  I absolutely cannot believe my semester at the JCRC is already coming to an end.  The Jewish and Muslim Day of Service that will take place on Christmas Day is in the final planning stages.  I am working on creating a list of volunteers that have signed up, contacting organizations that are helping to support the event, and spreading the word on my campus. 

I was incredibly surprised to watch the number of volunteers that have signed up soar in the first few days the registration website was live.  The list is up to 95 total entries, most with up to 4 or 5 people signed up per entry!  It is heart-warming to watch a community reach out and join in on this spectacular event.  It certainly puts more meaning into the holiday season than the incessant Christmas music playing in the stores already and the lines upon upon lines of people who waited for hours this past weekend for "a deal."  I am excited to hear about the success of this year's event and I am going to miss the opportunity to watch it all come together. 

The website for the event is http://www.stljewishmuslimdayofservice.org/.  It provides a full list of our sponsors and the service sites to which we will be sending volunteers.  I will be forever grateful to have had the opportunity to work with each of these organizations.  The staff I have been in contact with have helped me understand the process of communication and the art of working together.  I have also greatly enjoyed and benefited from learning about the work each of the agencies and organizations are doing in the St. Louis community.   

Fighting Poverty With Faith Initiative

Every year the JCRC hosts an initiative in collaboration with a national organization, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, known as Fighting Poverty With Faith.  In the past few years, a group of Jewish youth has been the target of the JCRC's efforts.  This year the issue addressed nationally was homelessness.  After partnering with the group's parents and teachers, we realized that our targeted group had been learning about the issue of homelessness for the past few months. 

It was decided that we would address the issue of hunger, a topic this group has been presented with several times through the JCRC.  The important aspect of this event, however, would be a hands-on volunteer opportunity in which the kids would be able to give back while learning about an important issue in their community.  This Sunday, sixteen students worked for two hours at the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry.  We helped pack bags with food that would be picked up throughout the week by local clients.

The kids absolutely loved the work of labelling the bags, collecting the necessary items from around the pantry, and organizing the cans and boxes in each bag.  It was wonderful to spend time with the huge amount of energy and excitement the kids had for this new adventure.  I was reminded that I could put more energy into my own volunteer endeavors and give the people I am helping the same contagious happiness these students brought to the food pantry.

The volunteer outreach coordinator was incredibly patient and flexible as our group needed more adaptability than a typical group of volunteers.  The pantry was absolutely packed with three different groups working at the same time.  The pleasant noise level of laughing and talking made the work fun for all.  Our group had a blast racing around and finding the different types of food and playing with the food carts.  I think they were all surprised that volunteering can be fun. 

Afterwards, we came together for a quick debrief in which the kids surprised me with their input and knowledge about the issue of hunger in St. Louis.  The experience these kids are gaining through the JCRC initiative each year is priceless.  A permanent desire to help those less fortunate is developing inside their young hearts and, with continued input from the JCRC, hopefully they will continue to seek volunteer opportunities and grow in helping others.