Jen's Personal

 

 

My immediate family

My Grandma Sydelle

Me and Steph as babies

My Great Grandma Gert holding me

My Grandma Marilyn and Grandpa Stanley with their grandchildren

    As we have been discussing throughout the entire tour of our museum, legacy is impacted by the people around you. My parents have already made a great impact on my life. Since I was little, they taught me that if you are in the position to do so, you need to help others. If we were in that situation, we would like someone to help us. If we know someone that doesn't have a place to go during a holiday, we invite them to enjoy with us, even if that wasn't our plan.  This lesson of repairing the world, or Tikkun Olam has been passed down from generation to generation. My Great Grandma Gert was a member of the Lion Of Judah Society. This is a society of women that gave money to help others in the world. She passed this lesson to her daughter, my grandma Marilyn and my grandpa Stanley. They are currently involved in a charity called Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service. This is a non-profit, human service agency. It is a non-profit, human service agency for people of all ages and backgrounds. The agency helps all types of people in difference situations such as senior care services to teen help hot-line. My grandparents create a fundraiser to raise money for these causes.     My grandma Sydelle, on the other side of the family, has always taught me that you need to help others. She encourages me to give back and help others. My grandma has always helped supported me in all of my efforts. My mom is involved a  group called Friend-of-a-friend that helps others in need.  She recently delivered food to a poor temple on long island. My dad works with Ronald McDonald and holds a fundraiser to give that charity support it deserves.With my Hebrew confirmation class, I attended a seminar in Washington D.C. for the weekend. They discussed Tikkun Olam  throughout this important weekend. A few homeless people came to talk to us. This experience was very different than expected. They weren't trying to get us to give money or donate, but to treat them as real people. Usually people ignore the people on the streets acting like they weren't even there. All you need to do is say "hello" or "how are you" and it can make their day a little brighter. Even a little action like this can make a big impact. This greatly influenced me as well as my friends. Later that night, we put our extra food from our dinner into a box and gave it to the homeless man on the corner of the street as we said hello. This truly made me realize the impact of one small action. Many of the traits that my family have, I have acquired over the years. Even though I am only one person, my experimental made me realize that I can make a difference. One person's legacy can affect the world.  In the future, I want to use the information that I acquired , along with the lessons that my past relatives have been trying to instill in me my entire life, to make a difference. I am not sure what my future holds for me, but I want to be remembered for helping others and making a difference in the world.