"Teens for the Community" Recognized For Their Service

by Rabbi Mendel Silberstein

(May 29, 2008) On Thursday evening, May 22, Chabad of Larchmont and Mamaroneck held an evening of recognition for the members of TFC - Teens for the Community. The teens were honored and recognized for their commitment to service at home and abroad.

In September 2007, a group of Jewish high school students from Mamaroneck High School and other local schools began what they call TFC - Teens for the Community. Every Thursday at 6:30 pm the group gathers to do community services which enhance the lives of others - sometimes keeping it near home and other times taking on international causes.

Members of Teens for Community display pillows they created and later donated to Israeli children. Rabbi Mendel Silberstein (far right) initiated and directs the group.

Charlotte Wiesenberg, a TFC member and junior at Mamaroneck High School, spoke at the evening about the virtues of helping others in need and about how fulfilling and rewarding it is to be involved in community service. David Everett, whose son Elias participates in TFC, spoke on behalf of all the parents.

During the event, the teens received certificates of honor from Chabad of Larchmont and Mamaroneck, which initiated, sponsors and directs the program. In its first year, the program started with six students and now has seventeen.

Some of the community services the teens of TFC have participated in are:

• Preparing hundreds of sandwiches for the homeless of HOPE Community Services, Inc
• Raising over $1000 in a Bowl-a-thon for Chai Lifeline, benefiting children with cancer
• Recording story books on tape for foster children at OHEL
• Baking Challah and Hamantashen with the developmentally challenged
• Arranging and running a Chanukah Party at Columbia Presbyterian Children’s Hospital
• Playing games and visiting with seniors at United Hebrew Geriatric Center
• Putting together some 400 Mishloach Manot food baskets in honor of Purim
• Making pillows and jewelry for children suffering from rocket missiles in Sderot, Israel
• Running a clothing drive for needy families in Israel, sending thousands of garments
• Helping out at the Larchmont-Mamaroneck Hunger Task Force Inc

The teens honored at the event were:

The teens will take a break for the summer, and the program will resume in September.

To learn more about TFC and other programs of Chabad of Larchmont and Mamaroneck, visit them on the web at JewishLarchmont.com or contact Rabbi Silberstein at 914-834-4321 or rabbi@jewishlarchmont.com