Just the experience of walking inside was a better prelude than anyone could have planned. Where was I headed? To the second annual Teen Day of Social Action in Milwaukee: a day-long event co-sponsored by Coalition for Jewish Learning and Tikkun Ha-Ir of Milwaukee. It's geared at getting teens involved with social justice.

The first half of the day was held at the Kosher Meat Klub warehouse, where we were serving at a food pantry. About 40 teens gathered to pack Passover food to distribute to Milwaukee's needy Jewish families. But the lesson began before we were even inside.

A long line of people—many elderly, mostly speaking in Russian—were already thronging around the door. The experience of being ushered through the crowd was otherworldly. I'd never imagined there were so many needy people right under my nose. I wasn't expecting anything like this. At this rate, how stunning would the rest of the day be?

As it turned out, stunning was an understatement. But that's not to say it wasn't fun, too. Once inside the food pantry, we quickly formed ourselves into an assembly line, buzzing with excitement as we put together food packages. And the building itself was a hive of activity, too—about 300 people came to pick up food for Passover.

When we finished, we were filled with pride. How often does anyone have the opportunity to be so productive, to make such a contribution to the welfare of so many people? We'd been working hard, but we were still full of energy. It's a good thing the day wasn't over yet. After we stopped for lunch at the local Lake Park Synagogue, we split into groups to travel to other places around the city.

This was our chance to make more personal contributions—to meet a few people and get to know their situations better, and to forge longer-lasting connections. What we'd accomplished that morning was spectacular, but what happened later taught us how to make a difference on our own and how to contribute often and without the backdrop of such a big event. Teens chose from a half-dozen locations, depending on their interests. At the Urban Ecology Center, people made decorations to help guide the birds in nearby Riverside Park. Volunteers who like to work with children went to La Causa, a shelter with social services and programs for families.

I went to the Guest House, an emergency “drop-in” shelter for men that offers meals, counseling and free classes. After we took a tour of the building and learned about the program, we helped in the kitchen, sorting food. It's true that many hands make light work—what would have seemed impossible for the overworked directors, we finished in no time.

Down the hall, we saw a man humming to himself as he folded his laundry. Seeing so much cheer in such a simple task was inspiring in a strange way. It helped us appreciate the hopeless situations many people had come from, and the work they put into bettering their lives. I think we all want to understand other people's problems better, but at the same time, we don't know how lucky we are that we're not experiencing them firsthand.

That Sunday, we all took something away with us—the volunteers, the coordinators, and all the people we worked with. The Teen Day of Social Action let us see things we'd never before had the chance to see. We gained experience that taught us the importance of feeling compassion. And, most importantly, we helped people in ways that will stick with them—and us—for a long time to come.  

Chana Ellman is a senior at Riverside University High School in Milwaukee, Wisc.