KEN’s Hands On Giving Program Teaching San Diego Youth to ‘Repair the World’

Each fall, the start of a new school year sets hundreds of KEN Jewish Community children out on a mission to practice one of the core values of Jewish philosophy in their local community — infused with the distinctly Latin creativity and warmth that makes the nonprofit unique.

As the central organization for nearly 400 of San Diego’s Latino Jewish families, the KEN offers outreach and educational programs for all ages — including its cornerstone Hands On Giving program, which teaches children to “repair the world” through meaningful acts of service.

This project embodies KEN’s commitment to Tikun Olam — the Jewish value of “repairing the world” — empowering youth to take action by showing them just how easy it can be to make a tangible impact for their neighbors.

“It’s one of the nicest things that we inherit from our Jewish tradition,” said Yael Yaffe, the KEN’s Executive Director. “It’s about trying to teach our kids every year something different about doing good and feeling fortunate and understanding that we can make an impact on the community around us.”

The program combines these lessons with hands-on activities that every child, from kindergarten through 12th grade, participates in, uplifting communities and building bridges across borders from San Diego to Tijuana through service, compassion and connection.

Each year, KEN students organize more than a dozen service projects — with students from each grade level leading their own activity, ranging from environmental cleanups and food collection drives to outreach to elderly neighbors and more — that culminate in a community-wide Good Deeds Day, where more than 300 youth come together for one large-scale service event.

Among the many Hands On Giving projects this year, one effort centered on meeting needs in an underserved San Diego community. KEN eighth-graders designed and sold custom caps to purchase new school uniforms for National City children in need, identified in collaboration with the National School District and The Good Neighbor, a nonprofit founded by a KEN alum that supports people experiencing homelessness and vulnerable children and families in San Diego.

Last month, KEN students personally delivered the uniforms — along with toiletries from The Good Neighbor and additional clothing generously donated by KEN families — directly to the children.

During the donation event, KEN students also welcomed families for hands-on arts and crafts, from friendship bracelets to cookie decorating and sports activities, helping foster positive interactions and a strong sense of community. Despite the rain, more than 80 National City students and 50 parents attended.

“The event was truly heartwarming and wonderful,” said Dalilah Gil, District Resource Teacher with the National City School District. “Children enjoyed participating in crafts, and parents relaxed with bagels as they gathered their items. Families felt welcomed, grateful and blessed to be part of this beautiful event.”

Although many of the Hands On Giving projects shift and evolve from year to year, one has become a tradition for fourth-graders in the program for the last 15 years: selling avocados to fund eye surgery for a child in Tijuana through a partnership with the CODET Vision Institute and Fundación +Luz.

“It’s one of our oldest and most successful program activities, and I’m very proud of it,” Yaffe said.

The KEN students begin each year by watching a video introducing them to the child, who is often of similar age, so they can hear firsthand about their life and challenges.

“We send someone from our team to Tijuana to be able to speak with this kid, so this kid can try to explain how he lives with the condition that he has, and we motivate our kids with this video,” Yaffe explained.

This year, KEN fourth-graders supported Alexa, a 6-year-old girl who, like her mother and grandfather, was born with cataracts in both eyes. A total of 27 students sold more than 505 bags of avocados — door to door, to their neighbors and even in public spaces — raising more than $4,200 total to fund Alexa’s surgery.

And for Good Deeds Day this year, the KEN community chose to support Beth Eshet Jail, a women’s center that offers fitness and wellness services, as well as meaningful guidance and connection, to the wives of soldiers in Israel. Last month, KEN families came together to assemble personalized care kits that were delivered to families in Israel.

Although the KEN makes up only about 1% of San Diego’s Jewish population, its impact is anything but small.

For Yaffe, the program is about more than service — it’s about raising children who are compassionate, responsible and connected to the world around them, and ultimately empowering them to help make San Diego a place where all communities feel welcome.

“In the end, if we can teach the kids about Tikun Olam and always trying to make a difference in whatever opportunity they have — and I think it’s a universal value, not only exclusive to Jewish people — I feel like that can change the world,” Yaffe said.