I was so honored to give my debut solo recital yesterday night (January 20th 2024), featuring works of Chopin and Beethoven as a fundraiser for ONE ALWAYS MATTERS. This performance meant a lot to me,

Hello, it's me, the 1, and only Jack Burstein. Thank you for coming to my Bar Mitzvah, and supporting me. I'm so proud of learning my Torah portion, the many blessings, as well as crafting this d’var Torah.

My torah portion is Bamidbar, from the book of numbers. This name is very fitting, as in this portion there is a census taken of the Israelites as they are wandering through the desert in search of Israel…. My mitzvah project is donating shoes. One Always Matters is a nonprofit organization that helps people get their lives back together. Mainly in New York, part of what they do is give to refugees, including necessities, like shoes. (click to continue)

The Day School believes very strongly in community service and we always look to be involved in a community service project that is meaningful for the children. Our school works to develop compassionate, empathetic and thoughtful citizens who understand that they are part of many communities. We will often have parents come up with causes that are close to their heart that can involve the children. When some of the parents heard about the migrants arriving in our city, they knew something had to be done and approached the school to get involved. (click to continue)

By Jennifer L. I met Bindia at an event through our childrens' school, where I had learned about her organization One Always Matters and her weekly work with City Relief. I was touched by the fact that she makes time each week to do this important work, and I felt inspired to volunteer with City Relief and to start thinking about how to get more involved with One Always Matters. I volunteered recently and can't wait to do so again soon. I was a bit nervous to volunteer as this is a Christian organization and I come from a Jewish Background.

By Carl B. Recently I had the pleasure to participate in Don’t Walk By (DWB), a yearly three to four weekend volunteer event organized and run by the Rescue Mission in which participants walk the streets of New York interacting with every homeless individual they come across. Though I was new to this event, outreach and interaction with our unhoused friends has been a personal journey I’ve been on for the last year and a half. It’s interesting when you start to work in the volunteer world how interconnected and participatory this community is. There’s a point when you’ve lived in the city long enough where it starts to feel small, and so it should be no surprise that the number of names involved in homeless volunteerism would seem even smaller.

By Nicole C. Two twin beds found themselves up for donation, and I found myself volunteering to take them off someone hands and offering them to the Afghani refugees that I had come to learn about through my dear friend, Bindia and One Always Matters. In a matter of minutes I had set the wheels of my upcoming free weekend in motion without considering what it would actually take to pull it all off. I do not own a vehicle, and moving furniture in NYC is not an easy or desirable task to those who do have the means to transport it. As soon as I committed to the endeavor, panic and anxiety set in about the logistics.

Instead of giving gifts for Indy’s 6th birthday this year, we asked friends to give donations to a charity that was important to us. We’d recently donated some gently used toys and clothes to One Always Matters for a newly arrived Afghan family, so they seemed like the perfect choice. We explained to Indy how his generosity would provide clothes and toys to girls and boys who had had to leave all their things behind very suddenly. I won’t pretend he wasn’t reluctant to give up on gifts! But once he realised who the money was going to help, a big smile passed over his face. Thanks to One Always Matters for all the hard work you are doing. We’re happy Indy could help out in a small way.