Yavneh Day School’s 7th grade students recently returned from their first-ever partnership with Tivnu: Building Justice, a hands-on, transformative experience in Portland, Oregon.
This experience blended hands-on service, community building, and reflection- core values of tzedakah, tikkun olam, and Jewish leadership.
Students worked in Hazelnut Grove and Dignity Village – two self-governed houseless communities. Their work included building fences, repairing homes and structures, de-nailing and cutting wood, painting murals, clearing brush and pathways, and forming meaningful relationships with residents.
They also witnessed how different daily life looks without easy access to essentials like electricity, running water, heat, and bathrooms.
Maggie reflected:
“The residents had to go to the common area, start a fire, heat up their food slowly, and then eat it before it gets cold. The houses were much, much smaller than mine, but they still make the most of having a house at all.”
Ezra added:
“People at Hazelnut Grove need to carry water up and down a hill. We just turn on a sink or open the fridge.”
In an inspiring act of initiative and compassion, one student met a resident who earns money by collecting cans. She organized her classmates to save their recyclables and deliver them to his home – an example of empathy turned into action.
Students also discovered new strengths and passions:
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“I loved cutting wood with the chop saw.” – Mia
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“I realized how strong the teamwork in my class is – how powerful I was when I encouraged others.” – Riley
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“You don’t need a lot to be happy. The people in Dignity Village started with nothing and ended up with a community.” – Ella
- “I learned that anything can change housing and financial situations, like an injury, so I need to be more careful. I also learned that I like working with tools.” – Akiva
Parent chaperone Rabbi Philip Ohriner shared:
“I watched perceptions change, relationships form, and new mindsets about the unhoused emerge – all while using tools safely. Your children are more resilient than you think, stronger than you know, and capable of more than they imagined. What a gift we have given our children with this trip.”
At Yavneh, transformative journeys like this – rooted in tzedakah, service, and Jewish values – help shape the next generation of leaders. When students build fences, repair homes, listen to stories, and work with empathy, they don’t just change communities – they are changed themselves.
This inaugural partnership with Tivnu marks the beginning of what we hope will be a lasting tradition of action-based learning and leadership in the world.
