On Sunday, April 14th, hundreds of Jewish teens from all across the Metropolitan Detroit area attended J-Serve 2019. Jewish 6th-12th graders headed to the heart of Detroit to express their passion for גמילות חסדים, Gemilut Chasidim, and תיקון עולם, Tikkun Olam. Teens were bused to various locations throughout Detroit to perform different community service acts at different sites including Summer in the City, Kibbutz Detropia, Voices for Earth Justice, and Eden Gardens Block Club. Following the completion of their community service, the teens gathered in Detroit’s Eastern Market, a historic commercial district, for a Mitzvah Celebration where they learned about dozens of other community service opportunities in the area.

Teens from BBYO as well as multiple temple youth groups were represented at Detroit’s J-Serve 2019. They gardened, painted, builded houses, and more. The teens loved making a change in their community, and just as J-serve made a huge impact on them, they enjoyed knowing that they were able to make a change in Detroit.

One senior from BBYO Michigan Region, Donovan Brown, enjoyed his last J-serve. He said that “at J-Serve, my job was to organize books for a program called Summer in the City, a program that underprivileged kids attend to ‘paint, plant, and play’. Just knowing that the books that I was sorting out would be the books that these kids get to read and take home, made me appreciate what I’m doing so much more.”

Ashley Krauthamer, a junior in high school and a participant of J-serve Detroit, helped create pots that kids in Detroit will use for planting and gardening during the summer. She said, “being able to positively impact my community is something that I’m so grateful for, and I’m so thankful that J-serve allowed me to help out with improving the lives of kids in Detroit.”

Overall, J-serve Detroit was a huge success. Participants were able to help out in Detroit and understand the true impact of community service while doing so.