Take It from the Top – LITERALLY!!!
Rabbi Avraham Y. Stern and Family, the Directorate, Staff and Children of BL – Girls Town Jerusalem take this opportunity to wish you and all of yours the most joyous and enjoyable Passover from the Seder (or Sedarim!) all the way through the end of Shabbat, Parshat Achrai M’ot!
Girls Town Jerusalem was bustling with excitement today as we received the many gueststhat came to participate in our “Open House Day. Principals, supervisors, and prospective parents, were warmly welcomed by our staff for an opportunity to see and experience a day in the life of Girls Town. Speaking to our girls, teachers, principals, therapists, and counselors in their natural setting gave them a “real time” view of the warmth and loving atmosphere that permeates the halls. The girls spoke about the devotion and care that the staff has for them. They know that there is no limit to what they will do to help them be successful, academically, socially, and emotionally. The girls also spoke about the close friendships that they develop that last for a life time. An awesome brunch was served to our honored guests, while they listened to a former student and a parent tell their stories. Mrs. N. described how heart wrenching it was for her to place her daughter in a dormitory after her divorce. But now, after a number of years, she is so grateful because she sees how happy her daughter is how she genuinely blossomed. Rivka R. described how everyone predicted that she wouldn’t even last a week in Girls Town due to her defiant behavior. Well, despite their dire predictions she stayed for over five years and left the Home as a bride. Our guests left with the first-hand knowledge that Girls Town Jerusalem is the place that they would feel totally confident to recommend to a girl in need of a “home away fromhome’.
If one were to calculate the amount of time the average 15 year old spends on their hair and then add the double XX chromosome factor for dealing with a female population, you would assume that any teen in the Girls Town Jerusalem dorm must spend 33% of her waking hours involved with her hair!!
With those stats in mind, you can really appreciate the idea of how tremendous of an act Leah C. undertook recently. Leah, who has been with us in GTJ since she was in 2nd grade, donated her hair to the Zichron Menachen organization which provides wigs for children that have suffered hair loss due to medical treatments. "I really thought about doing this for a long time," Leah said "and I almost didn't go through with it but now that I did it, I'm happy and proud that I did it". Leah, we are all so proud of you, too!
