Meir Panim‘s Restaurant-Style Soup Kitchen in Jerusalem was brightened by two young adults who came to volunteer – friends Abigail Saltzman and Emily Curtis. After searching together for a meaningful volunteer opportunity, they chose Meir Panim.

Saltzman is currently participating in a Gap Year program in Jerusalem called Nativ. Nativ is a college leadership program in Israel through the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. A native of Riverdale, New York, she expressed that she has a deep commitment to volunteerism and community service and wanted to continue this commitment in Israel, particularly in Jerusalem – her home for the year.

Curtis, a recent college graduate and alumnus of the Nativ program, is currently spending a second year in Jerusalem as a counselor to this year’s group.

Together at Meir Panim, they prepared and served lunch, greeted and sat with clients and were a warm addition to the center.

Volunteering at Meir Panim was a perfect fit for these two charitable friends! We can’t wait to have them back and we hope that they will bring more of their peers with them.