The opportunity to meet new people, and be involved in social action and philanthropy are the reasons I have recently gotten involved in the Young Leadership Division of the Federation. I am a teacher at Oakland Hebrew Day School. I do have that connection to the Jewish community, but I was looking for more. I am relatively new to the East Bay (formerly lived in San Francisco), and I want to meet new people with similar interests as myself. Smooth Mondays and Shabbat dinners have made that possible. Working on social action and helping my community are very important to me.

I believe each of us has an obligation to contribute to this world by helping others. Tikkun Olam is the Jewish belief that each soul in the world has the ability to heal the world through acts of loving kindness. The recent Mitzvah Day project where 20 of us volunteered to feed the poor and homeless at St. Vincent in Oakland gave me the opportunity to do my part for four hours on a Sunday morning. I look forward to future Mitzvah Days.

Why do I choose to donate money to the Federation? There are so many amazing, important non-profit organizations in our community. Each has a specific angle by which they help on the local or global level. It is so hard to decide on which organizations to give to. I contribute to Federation because the Federation helps so many organizations at once. Caring leadership of the Federation spends a lot of time and thought on how to help as many organizations effectively as possible. I trust the Federation’s leadership to allocate funds equitably and caringly.

I will be joining the YLD’s Leadership Initiative program. I look forward to this opportunity to develop my leadership skills, learn more about the Jewish community, and meet new people. Thank you YLD for helping me create a Jewish community for myself in the East Bay.