Cady Koffman loves baking, the traditions of Shabbat and helping other people.
She rolled these three things together by making challot for the Shabbat Boxes that Jewish Family Services has been distributing to its clients for the past five years. Her homemade mini-challah loaves accompany trimmings for Shabbat including candlesticks and grape juice.
"My Shabbat boxes are handed out during food deliveries and rabbis’ visits to care centers, and they always bring a smile to the recipients’ faces,” said Koffman, a recent Blue Valley North High School graduate who is attending Arizona State University. Because of her acts of gemilut chasidim, JFS has named Cady its August Volunteer of the Month.
Cady started volunteering in JFS’s Food Pantry during her elementary school years. Her inspiration came from her great-grandparents who emigrated from Poland during the Holocaust.
“When my great-grandparents arrived in America, they were fortunate to have organizations like Jewish Family Services to help get their new lives started,” Koffman said. “They lost most of their relatives in the war, so our small family has always been extra close. To maintain this unity, while growing up, we tried to gather often to spend quality time together and observe Shabbat. My Gaga (great-grandmother) was alive until I was 10, and she inspired me to volunteer regularly at the JFS food pantry at a young age.”
Thinking about those dealing with food insecurity, Koffman was concerned that Jewish clients probably couldn’t afford to purchase Shabbat supplies either.
“I wanted them to experience the fulfillment and connection that I felt on Friday nights when we lit candles and said blessings, as well as find a project that allowed me to bake, which is one of my favorite hobbies,” Koffman said. “I talked to the volunteer engagement director at JFS about creating a Shabbat Box program to supply my home-baked challahs, candlesticks, grape juice, and joy to those in the Jewish community who could use extra support.”
Koffman used “The Chosen Challah” recipe from Menorah Medical Center Auxiliary's Gourmet Garden Grows recipe book. Each month, Koffman would spend at least four hours preparing the challot and wrapping them for delivery.
“This program is meaningful to me because it makes me feel connected to my Gaga and to my heritage,” Koffman said. “I love being able to have fun baking while also granting those in need a proper Shabbat.”
In addition to her volunteer effort for JFS, Koffman gave time to Operation Breakthrough.
Cady isn’t the only Koffman who volunteers with JFS. Cady’s twin brother, Quinn, now a freshman at the University of Wisconsin, joined his father Brad Koffman in doing monthly pantry deliveries. Amanda Koffman, their mother, also volunteers with JFS.
Now that Cady is off at college, the “challah baking torch” has been passed to another engaged teen, Eve Benditt, who is a junior in high school.
Information about volunteering with JFS is available at jfskc.org/volunteer or by emailing .