HENDERSONVILLE, NC Camp Judaea and Young Judaea Teens (YJ Teens) completed a pilot Tikkun Olam program during Presidents Day weekend in Western North Carolina. Twenty teens from across the South, including five from North Carolina, engaged in critical Hurricane Helene recovery efforts in the region.
Since early October, NECHAMA has been on the ground, addressing devastation caused by Hurricane Helene and connecting individuals and groups with recovery volunteer opportunities. Over the course of two days, the teens helped rebuild a home in Pisgah Forest that was destroyed by the storm and cleaned up a local plant nursery that lost $1 million in inventory due to flooding.
“The teens played a key role in the home’s reconstruction, assisting with foundational support, installing new joists, laying plywood subfloor, and working under the house to measure, cut, and install insulation and vapor barriers,” said Rami Schwartzer, Hurricane Helene team lead for NECHAMA. “Many of them experienced hands-on construction work for the first time. In just four hours, the group accomplished what would have taken a single worker nearly three weeks to complete.”
On the second day, NECHAMA matched the eager teens with a local plant nursery that needed help with a large-scale cleanup effort from the flood. The group collected hundreds of flower pots and plants that had floated away from the nursery onto an adjacent property. There was an emphasis on not just collecting, but also saving as many pots and plants as possible. Gardeners would later work to repurpose the salvageable pots and save any recovered plants.
“Witnessing the extent of the damage and the struggles of the affected families was heart-wrenching, but it made our efforts feel even more meaningful. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the recovery process and help those who suffered so much. This experience has taught me the importance of community and compassion, and I will always carry these lessons with me.” Ivy Fishbein, teen participant.
The program participants also visited Camp Judaea to see the storm damage on the campus and learn from the camp’s facilities manager, Erik Pauwels and camp director, Lori Zeligman about the moments during and after the flooding. The weekend also included a stop at Hendersonville’s local bowling alley, Tarheel Lanes, supporting a local business that has been a partner of Camp Judaea for 20+ years.
The Tikkun Olam weekend was sponsored in part by JTeen (formerly known as JumpSpark) through the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta.
Photo Credit: Laurie Johnson