Celebrating National
Volunteer Week
with the Israel 75 Community Mitzvah Day Co-Chairs
Giving back to those in need, connecting with the community and making a difference are just a few of the many reasons why
people volunteer. During National Volunteer Week, April 16-22, and every week, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia is
inspired by those who dedicate their time to volunteering and leaving the community better than they found it.

In light of National Volunteer Week and as a way to honor Israel's 75 th anniversary, the Jewish Federation is hosting
Community Mitzvah Day on Sunday, April 23. This day will offer over 25 hands-on opportunities for all ages throughout
the Greater Philadelphia area. The Jewish Federation asked the four co-chairs of this day of giving back about why they volunteer.

Allison Goodman
“After spending 20
years in the finance
sector, I transitioned
into a full-time
volunteer in 2021 as a
way to give back to the
community that's given
so much to my family
and me. My primary goal is to help facilitate rebuilding our
community after the COVID-19 quarantine, particularly
within our day schools. I love to bring people together and
connect them in ways that are meaningful to them.”
Matthew Moskow
“Growing up, I
always volunteered
with causes that
my mom was
supporting. Today,
I am a proud co-
founder of Main Line
Math Project and
have found my passion offering free tutoring. I am excited for
Community Mitzvah Day, because it has the ability to really
show kids and their parents that giving back with the Jewish
Federation can be fun.”
Ready to do some good for your community?
Visit Israel75.jewishphilly.org/mitzvah to learn
more and sign up for one of the Israel 75
Community Mitzvah Day volunteer opportunities.

8 APRIL 13, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
Corie Moskow
“Volunteering and leadership
development can
sometimes be the
last things on the
family to-do list,
but they need to
be prioritized. The
Jewish Federation is the epicenter of Jewish life and when
we step up to volunteer through this organization, we help
strengthen and protect the Jewish community as a whole.”
Sarah Vogel
“I volunteer in the
community because
I am committed
to tzedakah. My
great-grandparents, grandparents and
parents have always
given back to others in
need and to worthy endeavors, no matter how much or how
little they had. Tzedakah is a way of life in my family.”



YOU SHOULD KNOW ...

Susan Becker
Courtesy of Susan Becker
Sasha Rogelberg | Staff Writer
W hile Susan Becker was in college at Penn State, she
worked as a Hebrew school teacher and b’nai mitzvah
tutor, teaching the next generation of Jewish youth. Years
after graduating, she worked with Jewish college students at Hillel at
Temple University, first as an engagement associate before becom-
ing the Hillel’s associate director.

For as long as Becker has been engaged in Jewish life, as she has
come of age, so, too, have the Hebrew school kids, teenagers and
college students she’s served.

“I totally feel like I’ve grown up with
the people that I’ve been working
with, which has been really special,”
she said.

Becker is the director of the Jewish
Federation of Greater Philadelphia’s
NextGen, an affinity group for
Philadelphia Jews ages 22-45 inter-
ested in philanthropy and the devel-
opment of leadership skills. As a
32-year-old Jewish professional living
near Washington Square, Becker once
again mirrors the demographic she
stewards through their Jewish life.

“I was excited to work with the next
generation of leaders in Philadelphia.

... This role allowed me to have the
Jewish community aspect that I love,
but also learn a new skill and challenge
myself in a new way,” she said.

Since taking up the mantle of
NextGen in August, Becker has
worked to expand NextGen’s program-
ming to attract young Jewish leaders
to the group. NextGen hosts social
gatherings and service opportunities
for millennial Jews.

On April 23, NextGen will partner with
Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel, Makom
Community, Tribe 12 and Center City
Kehillah for a clean-up of Albert M.

Greenfield School as part of the Jewish
Federation’s Israel 75 Community
Mitzvah Day. In the past, the affinity group
has organized trips with Honeymoon
Israel, participated in cemetery clean-
ups and held wine and whiskey nights
for members of the Ben Gurion Society,
young donors to the Jewish Federation.

Becker realized she wanted to work
with young Jews when she went on
Birthright with Penn State Hillel, a
confirmation of her love of her religion
and community.

“I got the idea for the first time that I
was passionate enough about Judaism
and Jewish life that I wanted to pass it
on to others,” she said.

A self-proclaimed Hebrew school
nerd, Becker has always gotten fulfill-
ment from Jewish education.

"Traditional Hebrew schools didn’t
work on, like, I don’t know, 75% of Jews,”
Becker said. “I think I’m one of the
people it totally worked on. I loved it.”
Becker recalls her classmates’
distaste for Hebrew school. While she
lied about her love of it to fit in, she
secretly looked forward to it weekly.

She credits her personal statement on
her love of religious school as one of
the reasons she was accepted into her
master’s program in Jewish education
at Gratz College in 2015.

On the other side of the desk as a
b’nai mitzvah tutor, Becker felt similar
gratifications: Over a year, she would
see students who struggled to learn
prayers and their parsha master
reading Hebrew and leyning Torah.

“I had one particular moment where a
student said to his mom, ‘I want to invite
Susan to my bar mitzvah because if it
wasn’t for Susan, I wouldn’t be having
a bar mitzvah,’” Becker recalled.

During her six years at Temple’s
Hillel, Becker saw students similarly
transform from “scared freshman” to
graduates with good job prospects
and developed interests.

Though Becker found her career
and passion in conventional means of
Jewish community-building, such as
religious school and Hillel, she recog-
nizes that it’s not for everyone. That’s
one of the purposes of NextGen: Young
Jews may not be going to synagogue,
but that doesn’t mean they don’t want
to be Jewish.

In NextGen, Jewish leaders have
diverse interests, projects and chari-
ties in which they’re interested.

“They want to get involved; they
want to volunteer; they want to take
on a leadership role, a board position.

... So there’s kind of something for
everyone.” Becker knows that connecting with
a Jewish identity can look different for
everyone. It can be going to a yoga
class with Jewish friends or volunteer-
ing with NextGen.

“Whatever you connect to is what
you should be aiming for,” she said.

“And you should find something that
works for you.” ■
srogelberg@midatlanticmedia.com JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
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