Mamaroneck & Larchmont Teens Give Up Winter Break to Volunteer

Twenty-one Jewish high school students from the New York area, including two from Larchmont and Mamaroneck, are spending their winter break volunteering.

Ben Rosenbaum of Mamaroneck and Samuel Morgolis of Larchmont are currently on Young Judaea's "Alternative Winter Break."

Andrew Fretwell, Young Judaea's Alternative Winter Break program manager, said the students will be living and working in New Orleans or Los Angeles.

In New Orleans, where Rosenbaum and Morgolis were volunteering, the students were helping to renovate homes and working with local youth and residents of the Ninth Ward, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Part of their activities were to organize a party at a local church to help its congregants better understand Judaism and the Jewish people.

Students who went to Los Angeles volunteered at LA Regional Foodbank, Midnight Mission, People Assisting the Homeless and the Jewish Big Brothers and Sisters of LA.

"By living and working in communities where the effects of their efforts can be felt," Fretwell said, "these teens will learn firsthand about the issues affecting those who live in recovering and struggling areas."

He said Alternative Winter Break lets participants develop a sense of building community.

Fretwell said they will "ultimately go home more committed and better equipped to offer service where it is most needed."

Rosenbaum said he was really happy to be in New Orleans.

"After hearing about everything that has happened here, it's just really good to see it and be a part of the rebuilding myself," he said.