For years, driving through Baltimore’s older neighborhoods, Ellen Friedman felt sad at the sight of once lovely houses that had become neglected and decrepit. She used to think, “Someone ought to do something about that,” and wished that she could help.
Now, by volunteering with Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake, she’s doing just that.
In the winter of 08-09, she helped on two interfaith builds along with other Chizuk Amuno members, and she was hooked. So, last summer she took advantage of her teacher’s schedule to volunteer one day a week on the house sponsored by the United Churches group.
She met an incredible, inspiring group of volunteers. There are congregants of many area churches, some of whom have been volunteering at HFHC for years. Ellen says, “I learned many useful skills—how to use a circular saw, how to install subflooring that won’t squeak, and how to work on an unfinished second story despite a moderate fear of heights. It’s gratifying to see the progress that we can make on a house in just one day, and to see how much more is added from week to week. I truly feel that I’m putting my Jewish values into practice in the most concrete way (no pun intended).”
Ellen teaches Judaics at Krieger Schechter Middle School and her family has been at Chizuk Amuno (a Jewish Congregation that supports HFHC and the Interfaith build) for almost 20 years.
