A good impression

We tip our yarmulke to the 16 American Jewish Society for Service teen volunteers who have traveled from across North America to spend six weeks of their summer vacation helping people in the Kansas City area. (See this week's related story.)

These youngsters are the epitome of selfless dedication to tikkun olam, or repairing the world. They have taken this dictum literally, working with a local Habitat for Humanity group to help build houses for low-income Kansas Citians.

This reflects well not only on the volunteers, but on the permanent Jewish community of greater Kansas City. For that, we are grateful.
AJSS, which is not affiliated with any of America’s Jewish religious movements or other major organizations, seems to be a little-known gem. Its teen volunteers live modestly and form temporary communities that provide them with much of the gratification they receive from the deal.

This is AJSS’s first group of religiously observant teen volunteers, which makes it all the more remarkable that a kosher-keeping, East-Coast kid would volunteer to spend his/her summer in greater Kansas City, doing yeoman’s work.

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