The act of giving tzedakah to help those who are less fortunate is one of the many mitzvot one can do in Judaism. This is why fundraising and community service are such important parts of BBYO. To do our part to help those in need, Nassau Suffolk Region held our annual J-Serve event this past Saturday, April 5th.

The event was held in honor of our Stand UP cause, the Allied Foundation, an organization that works to support babies and their families in need by providing them with clean diapers, baby wipes, and other necessary hygiene supplies.

To start the event, the regional Shlichim gave an overview of what the Allied Foundation is. A speaker from the foundation was then introduced—they spoke more about what the foundation does and proceeded to explain the activity we would be doing to contribute. We would be putting together packages for families in need, containing supplies like diapers and wipes.

After we packed supplies, we watched the movie Wreck-It Ralph. This movie was so good, and everyone had the best time watching it together. We ate popcorn, candy, and other fun movie snacks. J-Serve was such an amazing event because we got to help those in need while having fun at the same time!

The Allied Foundation is truly amazing and helps to make a difference in the lives of over 22,000 families. It is centered on Long Island, which is where the members in my region, NSR, live. This makes the foundation even more impactful to the region, as we learned about how to help people in need right near where we live. I’m so grateful to have been able to take part in such a meaningful event to help support such an amazing cause!