BOCA RATON, Fla. — Students from Florida Atlantic University volunteered their time Friday to help families in need after Hurricane Ian devastated parts of Southwest Florida.
“You go there, and you don’t expect all this," FAU student and volunteer Jonathan Cohen said. "Just seeing the people that they built everything from the ground up. A lot of these people they really built their houses themselves. They lost everything. No insurance.”
“We were able to see families whose homes have been completely totaled by water, and it smelled from the water, there’s mold damage, and it looks like people were throwing their whole houses away on the sidewalks," FAU student and volunteer Danielle Yablonka said. "And it was devastating.”
The trip was sponsored by Hands On Tzedakah and B'Nai Torah Congregation.
At 6 a.m., volunteers from FAU and the synagogue boarded a van from Boca Raton
“It’s really teaching the kids that it is important to give back," organizer and Director of TLC Summer Faerman said. "And giving their time is just as important, if not more important, than giving money, food and clothes.”
Faerman said they will be sending more aid to Southwest Florida in the coming days.
Visit the synagogue's website to learn more: https://btcboca.shulcloud.com/payment.php