Making a Difference in our Local Community with Rutgers Hillel
By Mike Nestel ‘14
Mike Nestel ’14 and Alex Hamilton ’16 at the Koach Hanukah Dessert Buffet on November 23rd 201
On the evening of November 17th, Rutgers Koach, the Conservative community at Rutgers Hillel, planned to have an event titled Ace of Cakes, named after a reality television show on the Food Network. The primary intention of the event was to donate the brownies we made to our local Ronald McDonald House. Just across the street from the Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center, the Ronald McDonald House is a nonprofit organization that focuses on directly improving the health and well-being of children. The children affiliated with the Ronald McDonald House suffer from various medical conditions, and the support from the Ronald McDonald House has significantly impacted the lives of their loved ones.
Given the tremendous quality of pediatric services in the “HealthcareCity,” The Ronald McDonald House of New Brunswick is essential because it serves all of the medical facilities in the greater New Brunswick area. Families travel internationally so their children can be treated in New Brunswick because these children have unique medical conditions that are not treated anywhere else in the world. There is no time frame marking whether these children will ever recover, so families can stay in the Ronald McDonald House for extended periods of time. I have always felt strongly motivated to help the Ronald McDonald House in any way I could to provide comfort for these families and to show my support. I really enjoyed contributing to this event because it allowed me to support a cause I believe in with a community I am proud to consider myself part of.
Following the baking, I personally delivered the brownies to the Ronald McDonald House. I cannot begin to describe the emotions I felt as I interacted with the families that day. I had the pleasure of speaking to a few of them as I helped prepare the house for Thanksgiving. I am thankful for the special opportunity.
Rutgers Koach and Rutgers Hillel gave me a chance to make a difference in my local community, and I plan to continue these efforts in future events. I look forward to being involved in other opportunities like this to make contributions to the world that surrounds me.
Koach leadership team in September 2013
Pictured from left to right are Aaron London ’15, Adina Kramer ’16, Michael Nestel ’14 and Sabrina Szteinbaum ’16.
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