aaeds/blog

On Wednesday, our students acted to improve the world, and it was incredible to witness.

Our 3rd and 4th grade students gathered with their teachers and with parent volunteers to cook a beautiful meal from ingredients donated by their parents. Chicken, shnitzel, vegetables, rice, fruit salad, potatoes … all of it made with care and love. Then, in the evening, three students, their parents, Ms. Goodman, and I delivered the food to participants in the Safe Parking LA program, ate dinner with the program's participants, and got to learn a bit about their lives.

Next Wednesday, we are making extra food for our Thanksgiving Feast, and more students and parents will be bringing a Thanksgiving dinner to Safe Parking LA participants.

Safe Parking LA is a program that arranges safe, overnight parking for people who fall into one of the gaps in the system that supports the homeless population. Participants in this program sleep in their cars. Many of the people that this program serves have jobs, go to school, or do both. They are the “hidden homeless”-- they could be your coworker, or sitting next to you at a fast food restaurant, and you would have no idea that they were homeless. But they sleep in their cars. They make too much money to qualify for housing assistance programs, and not enough to afford an apartment.

I had the pleasure of speaking with one participant for about 30 minutes who is a student at American Jewish University (my alma mater) on-track to earn her MBA in nonprofit management. She works three days a week, goes to school two days a week, and supports her daughter who is earning her AA from a community college. When she graduates, she wants to start a nonprofit that actually serves the needs of the homeless community. She said that the problem with the programs out there is that they treat all homeless people the same. How can a program that's only open during business hours support someone who can't afford to take off work?

Watching our students interact with the program participants was incredible. You could see that their vibrant, fresh presence and smiling faces brightened the participants' day. Our students proudly explained the many dishes they brought, pointing out the ones that they each prepared. The program coordinators, Emily and Suzanne, were endlessly grateful. One of their goals is to create community among the program's participants, encouraging them to eat meals together instead of in their cars. Having our students there gave everyone one more reason to be together.

Our children will, God willing, never know what it means to be truly hungry, or to feel the insecurity of not having a safe place to sleep. Many of us as parents are concerned that our children might grow up in a bubble, not understanding how incredible their lives are. For the students who cooked and/or delivered food that day, awareness is starting to rise within them. They are beginning to understand that need looks different for different people, and that the face of poverty is not always easy to spot.

Wednesday was so impactful that we have decided to make this a service that we, as a community, can regularly provide to the Safe Parking LA community. Morah Hava has generously volunteered her time to run an enrichment class starting in January, in which students of all ages can come after school on Wednesdays to prepare dinner for Safe Parking LA on a weekly basis. More faculty members will also be donating their time to help. We will also be organizing volunteers of parents and students to be bringing food Wednesday evenings to this group �" not only delivering food, but dining with them.

This endeavor will not be without expense. Wednesday, to help defray the cost, students brought in different ingredients to make the meal. Once we start doing this on a regular basis, Hava will be going to Costco to buy food in bulk. Though space in the enrichment class will be limited, we want to extend the opportunity to our whole community to support this effort. If you would like to contribute toward covering the cost of food, you can donate here.  

If you are interested in volunteering to bring dinner to the participants, anyone can sign up, regardless of whether or not your child participates in the enrichment class. If you would like to sign up, you can do so here.  

Last spring, we considered opening our Adat Ari El parking lot to be a Safe Parking LA lot. Due to security concerns, we decided against it �" and now we have been given another opportunity to not only make a difference in these people's lives, but to teach our children what it truly means to serve others. Your support, whether through donating your time or contributing financially, will truly make a difference.