On March 14th nine high school seniors went to Washington D.C. on a Panim el Panim trip. This was underwritten by our social action committee fund and by the Community Foundation for Jewish Education. All of the students had a wonderful trip and came back inspired. The program involves the teens in social action projects as well as lobbying on the Hill. All of the kids got to meet with their local Congressman/woman. Below are statements from some of the participants:

Last week, from March 14th to 17th, I had the opportunity to go on an excellent student advocacy trip to Washington DC called Panim el Panim. For this, I wanted to take a few moments and thank the members of Etz Chaim that made that possible for our group. We awoke early and met the rest of the Chicago teens at the airport the 14th at five thirty in the morning. Not knowing what to expect, we soon began to bond. We were the first group to arrive in DC and after doing a couple of tourist-y activities we met the other 65 or so teenagers from around the country. I don’t know about you, but I had no clue that there were teens in Utah or Oklahoma! We got a chance to meet amazing teenagers from around the country as we learned about how we can help right the wrongs that are not only found in DC, but in every corner of the country, whether we take the time to realize it or not.

The first day, my favorite activity was a panel that came to talk with us from the National Coalition for the Homeless. One of the people was a director or coordinator and the other two had experienced homelessness and went around the city as well as throughout the country as advocates sharing their stories. They were very emotional accounts, making us realize that homelessness is not biased and can happen to anyone. On the third day, we went to a nearby park where many of DC’s homeless come because I soup cart comes once a day for dinner. We brought socks, shirts, and toiletries and distributed them while we socialized with a variety of different people, all of which had amazing stories to share. One man had been a player for Canada’s equivalent of the NBA before shattering his foot. Another had divorced his professor wife when her ego got too big as he told us, and was now working on biking across the country. Everyone we talked to was very happy with the way they were being treated- there were available resources everywhere. 

Panim was an amazing experience, and I would recommend it, and in fact already have, to Etz Chaim students that will have the opportunity to teach in the next few years. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this enlightening and exciting experience! Marina Rostein

I have always known that homelessness and hunger are issues in our country, but Panim el Panim helped me actually address these issues and make a difference. We had the opportunity to listen to two former homeless adults and hear their stories. They told us about how they became homeless, how they slept on park benches or in shelters, how drugs were an everyday occurrence. After years of living on the streets, they realized they needed to change their lives. One man, Steve, entered a program that helps people find jobs and housing in order to start their lives again. One thing that Steve said that really stood out to me was that while he was living on the streets, there was nothing more terrifying to him than seeing a group of teenagers walking by him. He said they were so cruel; they would throw things at him or laugh at him. Knowing that there are people my age that would be so rude to somebody they know nothing about makes me motivated to do just the opposite.

Later in the trip, we went and volunteered at a soup kitchen called SOME (So Others Might Eat). SOME was more than just a soup kitchen, though; it offered services like job training, doctors, dentists, affordable housing, and most importantly, a sense of hope and dignity to everybody that went there. It had such a friendly atmosphere and was very homey. We participated in a program called “Street Torah” later that night. Everybody brought something to donate, either clothes or toiletries, and then we went out to a heavily homeless populated park and distributed them. We got the chance to talk with the people and hear their stories, or simply talk about everyday things and hopefully make their days a little better. Knowing that I helped brighten somebody’s day by having a 10 minute conversation with them was such a good feeling. Having come face to face with this issue by meeting and listening to all of these people’s stories makes it more relevant and real to me. Going on Panim helped me realize how much I can do to help, not only with the issue of homelessness, but with anything that I feel passionate about. Robyn Feldmar


I cannot express how happy I am that I chose to go on the Panim el Panim trip. First off all, there is nothing better than being surrounded by other Jews, especially ones that you automatically click with. Thanks to Panim, I now have good friends from several other cities around the country as well as the Chicagoland area. Although the days were packed with activities which left us with little free time, the overall program was very fun, educational, and inspiring. On the service day, I got to go to a place called SOME (So Others Might Eat). My group helped serve food and coffee, set the tables and clean up. There was very little interaction between us and the homeless guests but that is because we devoted our effort into making the meal and process easy for them. I was very impressed and inspired by SOME's organization, happy volunteers, and free services. For a long time now I have wanted to go into social work and after visiting SOME, I am very inspired to see that through and hopefully work with or even create a place like SOME. Liz Rabens

First and foremost, Panim el Panim was a great experience for me. It was great meeting Jewish teens from all over the country who actively participated in their community. What I enjoyed the most was the mock advocacy seminar because we were able to ‘make a difference’ through various forms of lobbying. I really learned how to make my opinion known to my representative and properly lobby. Panim taught me how to keep my Jewish values in mind during political events. Panim el Panim really helped me grow as a responsible citizen of my society. Julia Zeldin

This past week I spent four days in Washington D.C. along with 60ish other Jewish high school students. We spent our time there learning about the problems of homelessness in D.C., health care issues going on, and preparing to lobby with our district representative. My favorite programs we participated in while in Washington D.C. were listening to "Better Believe Steve's" story and helping out at S.O.M.E. Stephanie Miller

Steve Thomas told us his story starting all the way from when he was a child to a year ago, when someone helped him get off of the streets. Steve's story began when he was just 13, by getting into the wrong group of kids, who got him hooked on drugs and dealing. His story continued on with losing jobs, apartments, family members, and getting addicted to different drugs. Finally when he was 53, someone offered to help him. For the past year he has been working, fixing things with his family, and getting his life back on track.

The next day, we visited S.O.M.E. (So Others Might Eat).  Our group helped out during lunch time. We helped get food ready and set tables. At 11:30 AM, crowds of people starting coming through the doors and it was our chance to help. Seeing these people and hearing their stories really made me want to do something about homelessness and help out more. This trip taught me a lot about homelessness, for example that not all homeless people messed up some how in their life. Things can happen to anyone and everyone. After spending this time in Washington D.C. I plan to help out more at PADS and different soup kitchens around the Chicago Area.