Our Martin Luther King Day of Service, which I wrote about last week, ended up exceeding all expectations: 2,850 volunteers came together at 42 projects across New York City, Long Island, and Westchester under the banner of UJA-Federation’s Time for Good.

The day had a strong intergenerational vibe; parents, grandparents, young children, and teens all volunteering together. And while the exact numbers are still being tallied (numbers of meals served, kits for underprivileged families packed, seniors visited, etc.), what’s clear is that our impact went far and wide, for both volunteers and clients.

As for me, I volunteered at three incredible projects run by UJA nonprofit partners. At the JCC Harlem, we helped pack meals for the local food pantry, and at MJHS, we put together comfort kits for hospice patients.

But the experience I’ll never forget was at the New York Legal Assistance Group, where I met with members of Girl Scout Troop 6000 — created last year for girls ages 12 – 17 living in New York City’s homeless shelter system. The girls were there to discuss their career goals and aspirations, and we were there to help them create vision boards depicting those dreams.

There are 287 girls in the troop, a small portion of the 8,000 girls ages 12 – 17 currently living in New York City shelters — a heartbreaking number. And yet despite the hardships and challenges these girls face, they were so thoughtful, so motivated, so earnest, so optimistic. They lit up the room.

One girl I worked with created a board that charted her trajectory from college to attorney to ultimately becoming a judge — the same career path as my mother. Another was passionate about becoming a veterinarian, like my wife. I couldn’t help but think how much these young women would have to overcome to reach these goals, but also how even this one experience, this one opportunity to help them articulate their ambitions, could make a difference.

The goal of our MLK Day of Service, beyond completing extraordinary work on that day, is to create awareness about the vast needs of our community and the heroic efforts of our nonprofit partners — in the hope that this inspires all of us to make even more Time for Good.

Shabbat shalom,

Eric