In 2015, a severe flood hit the southeastern region of our country and, to this day, the people there are still recovering.
After hearing about this suffering, TABC saw a perfect chessed opportunity for its students. In late November, on a very cold Sunday night, eight students and two chaperones left for a very exciting three day trip to Columbia, South Carolina.
After a quick hour and fifteen-minute plane ride, the students landed at midnight. Although they arrived late, the boys were motivated to wake up early the next day and meet the crew from SBP, the charity organization that TABC would be assisting.
SBP was in the process of building a house for a needy family. After the boys were informed of how to help build the house and why it was so necessary and important, they instantly got to work.
“The students painted walls, built in screening, scraped the windows and even finished a ceiling,” said Rabbi Jonathan Kessel, a Limudei Kodesh Rebbi and Chesed Coordinator.
Building a house can be tiresome, but not for these TABC volunteers. When various students were asked about building houses in such radiant heat, they answered with confidence that it was not hard to do.
When Senior Yonatan Katz was asked to explain why he felt this way, he answered, “You just need to be precise, because you want everything to be perfect. Just like you want your house to be nice when you move in, so too do you want it for them.”
After being asked what their favorite job was on site, the majority of students replied painting the walls, windows, and ceilings.
While speaking to the students, I wondered if they were overworked, considering that it was such a large task for a limited amount of people.
Junior Aryeh Kossove answered in the negative: ”No, because we did different things each day. The first day I painted a door and a room, then another day I cut pieces of wood with a buzz saw and then put them up to cover the staples”
I asked Yonatan Katz what was different about this trip from any other one. He answered, “Most times you go on a chessed trip, you go to demolish houses. But, in this case, we got to finish up a house and make it inhabitable for the people to live in and personally I think that was more meaningful.”
TABC pushed the limits while working because every person contributed the best to his ability. “My main job was to use the staple gun,” said Senior Eli Rifkind. “It was hard at first, cause we had to make sure it was really tight but eventually I got the hang of it.”
This chessed trip wasn't just intended to help the people from South Carolina but also to help the students themselves. “This trip definitely helped us to bond,” Rifkind added.
Yonatan Katz concurred: “It's pretty cool because you get to chill with guys you aren't really close with before the trip and become great friends over a two-day span.”
Though the trip was very meaningful, the students got to squeeze in some fun before they left. On their downtime, the students hung out at the bowling alley at The Grand, and then went out to eat at a vegan restaurant for dinner.
The next day, they visited the famous Riverwalk Zoo and then visited the University of South Carolina. The students were then rewarded with delicious Krispy Kreme donuts before their flight home.
The boys arrived back in New Jersey late Tuesday. Though they were exhausted, they will always remember this great experience and the positive impact it had on them.
About two weeks later after the finishing touches on the house were finished, the owners (whom the TABC volunteers never met) finally moved in. The residents were very thankful for all the TABC volunteers had done to help build their new house.
This trip demonstrates a very good lesson in life: if you work together for a task, you are more likely to get things accomplished. Here we can see how we must have complete faith in God, because when everything was destroyed, human beings helped each other to tackle the challenge and achieve great results.