Six thousand hours of volunteering in the past year in memory of a young man who was killed in a terrorist bus bombing have been marked at a moving ceremony.
Yon Jesner from Glasgow was 19 when he was tragically murdered in Tel Aviv while on a gap year in Israel in 2002.
In his memory, his mother, Marsha Gladstone, established The Yoni Jesner Awards, which encourage children between the ages of 11 and 13 to give up their time to volunteer.
This year marked the 12th anniversary of the awards at a ceremony held in north-west London, where the Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis KBE stated that he was “inspired so deeply” by the efforts of the young people to carry out acts which are “celebrating, altruistically, the life of Yoni with no bitterness, no hate, despite the way he died”.
Barry Coleman, secondary schools manager for the charity, GIFT, which supports the award, introduced several new schools this year. Amongst these was Gesher for children with special educational needs. One of its pupils, Liron, 12, told the JC that he “loves working for the award because it made people happy and smile in the community”.
Fellow student Max, 12, said how he had volunteered in the school library, in the kitchen and with the school’s art therapist.
Amelia, 12, a pupil at JCoSS, shared how she had volunteered at her shul by helping prepare kiddush and making food and had also done voluntary work as part of her batmitzvah journey. She told the JC she “learnt that volunteering isn't just helpful, it’s also fun for the people volunteering, and it’s really good for the people who you're helping”.
James, 13, from Yavneh College, said he has gained “skills of confidence” and was “enjoying volunteering and helping out in the community”.
This year also marked the introduction of two new geographical locations on the Yoni Jesner Awards map – BNJC in Brighton, and Yavneh Girls High School in Manchester.
Other schools that have stepped up to the Yoni Jesner challenge include JFS, JCoSS, Yavneh College, and Hasmonean Boys and Girls. In addition, a number of private schools – City of London, Immanuel College, Haberdashers’ Girls and Boys, North London Collegiate and Henrietta Barnett – are also involved.
Pupils must volunteer for a minimum of 20 hours to receive the Yoni20 Award, 50 hours for the Yoni50 and 100 hours for the Yoni100.
Marsha highlighted award recipient Sam Goldman, who had weekly calls with an elderly couple every Friday before Shabbat came in. They were so touched by what he had done for them that they bought him tefillin for his barmitzvah “for such a simple and unremarkable thing to do. That is the power of giving,” said Marsha.
Marsha went on to recall how Yoni’s organs had been transplanted to save the life of several people, including a young Palestinian girl, immediately following his death. He had been planning to become a doctor.
In both life and death, she said her son was a truly extraordinary person and it was appropriate that a whole giving community had been established as his legacy.
Speaking to a room full of young volunteers, educators and philanthropists, Marsha reflected that Yoni believed “real living means giving”, telling the award-winners: “The essence of Yoni lives on through all of you.”
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