This guest post is from Amanda West, a member of our Young Adult Division (YAD) B'Yad Service Corps. This program is part of the the Catalyst Fellowship, a program funded by Repair the World in partnership with Jewish Federations of North America.

*YAD B’Yad cohort marks the end of Shabbat with a Havdalah ceremony.*

What happens when people with a shared passion for serving their community come together to learn, volunteer, and turn their ideas into action? That is the heart of YAD B’Yad, an exciting and innovative volunteer program run through the Jewish Federation of Greater Raleigh, that I was selected to participate in.

YAD B’Yad brings together a small group of individuals to participate in a series of volunteer opportunities and Jewish learning experiences throughout the community. With each service learning opportunity, participants are challenged to think creatively about the needs in their local community and develop new service projects that combine meaningful action with Jewish learning.

Over the weekend of August 28-30th, my cohort traveled to Wilmington, North Carolina, for a Shabbaton focused on service, learning, collaboration, and project development. Over the course of two days, me and seven other young leaders had the opportunity to step away from our everyday routines and dedicate time to thinking about what it means to serve others—and how we can create future opportunities for others to do the same. I personally found it so special to be a part of creating a space where we could focus on our service projects and build off of each other’s ideas while also spending a Shabbat together in community.

One of the most meaningful parts of the weekend was volunteering with 2Share, a Wilmington-based organization that delivers furniture to families facing financial hardship and to those leaving transitional housing as they rebuild their lives. Working together to collect and deliver furniture gave us a hands-on opportunity to see the impact that service can have on individuals and families. We met the families and even helped assemble furniture in their homes. We arrived as strangers, but left with smiles, gratitude, and a feeling that we had become a small part of their stories. The heartfelt thanks and appreciation we received served as a powerful reminder that even simple acts of kindness can make a lasting difference.

The weekend also provided us with tools to help transform their initial ideas into thoughtful and sustainable service projects. One of these tools we reviewed was called Design Thinking Methodology, which is a process that encouraged the group to begin by identifying and understanding the needs within the community. This approach helped ensure that our projects would be rooted in real community needs and designed to create meaningful impact.

Throughout the Shabbaton, we explored passages from the Torah and Jewish text and considered how Jewish values can guide the way we interact with and care for those around us. The learning helped us connect our service ideas to larger Jewish traditions.

Personally, I think one of the most meaningful aspects of the Shabbaton was the opportunity to collaborate with others who share a similar goal. Developing these projects together created a space where we could lift one another up, build on each other’s ideas, and approach challenges from different perspectives. In this way, the process of creating service projects became a form of community building itself.

Each of our YAD B’Yad projects brings together two important components: service and Jewish learning. We are not only creating opportunities to address needs within our community, but also exploring the Jewish values and teachings that connect to the project, our Federation, and the local need. Even the name, YAD B’Yad, meaning “hand in hand,” captures the spirit of the program perfectly. It is about learning hand in hand, serving hand in hand, and building a stronger community hand in hand. Together, these experiences allow me and my fellow participants to strengthen our connection to Jewish values and Federation, while making a meaningful impact in the communities around them.

For more information about YAD B’Yad, contact Tamara Zishuk at tamara.zishuk@shalomraleigh.org.

YAD B’Yad: Learning, Serving, and Building Together