It could have been like any other ordinary day, but there I was, watching little girls making earrings for themselves and their moms, and little boys playing on the playground. It brought a smile to my face because I knew that my fellow volunteers and I were making a big difference in the lives of these homeless families.

The volunteers at this particular event were the teens of Memphis B’nai Tzedek (Children of Justice). This teen philanthropy organization has only been around for a few years, but it is growing and is stronger than ever right now.

We have been working hard to reach out to the community in many ways, and began a program called "Mitzvah of the Month," where teen advisory board members plan a project relating to a theme we pick for that month. Some topics that we have chosen for this upcoming year are hunger relief, the elderly, the homeless, the disabled and the environment.

For our first project, our theme was children, and we spent a day doing many activities with some children and parents from the Memphis Family Shelter, a long-term homeless shelter for women and children.

Once we arrived at the shelter, we were given a tour of the building by the Director of Children’s Activities. We saw everything from the computer room to the playgrounds. When the tour was over, we met the families and joined them to make jewelry, draw and decorate frames. Mostly, we were spending time in and around the shelter with the children since they are normally not allowed to do these things.

It became very obvious that all of the B’nai Tzedek teens were enjoying themselves. Why? Because they had taken time out of their busy schedule to do what seems like a small mitzvah, but what actually ended up making a huge impact on these children’s lives. Seeing the smiles on everyone’s face made me want to expand this project by visiting more regularly and getting more people involved.