Event Recognizes Girl Mentors

At the recent Kinus Hashluchos convention in New York, the shluchos weren’t the only ones who were recognized for their outstanding service.

MyShliach, a division of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch’s Suite 302, held a special girls’ event of appreciation this Chof Gimel Shevat for all the mentors who dedicate their time and effort to being mashpia on young shluchos around the world.

Mentors received a special gift from MyShliach and enjoyed a decadent hot dairy buffet. And though the meal was delicious, the highlight was when the mentors had the opportunity to meet their young learning partners face to face for the very first time.

“It was truly a beautiful event,” says Rabbi Mendy Schanowitz, director of MyShliach. “What the mentors are doing for these kids is absolutely unbelievable, and by hosting this event for them, we hope they feel how special and valuable they really are.”

Realizing that being a child on shlichus can be very isolating, MyShliach’s chavrusa program was founded in 2008 to pair young shluchim and shluchos, many of whom live in remote locations, with older bochurim and girls as learning partners and sources of inspiration.

“We cannot allow distance to be a deterrent to Chassidishe growth,” explains Rabbi Beryl Frankel, founder of MyShliach and director of Merkos Suite 302. “When learning partners, often never having met in person, get together by phone or skype on a weekly basis, it gives both the mentor and the mentee much chizuk.”

MyShliach’s girls’ coordinator Mrs. Blumie Rosenfeld, once herself a young shlucha in Russia, discussed her intimate understanding of the need for Yiddishe learning when on shlichus. She spoke from personal experience at the event, expressing her happiness that such a program exists, and her pride in being a part of it now.

Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, Chairman of MyShliach and Vice Chairman of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch, has a special place in his heart for these dedicated volunteers.

“It’s crucial that these mentors realize that, by providing a Chassidishe influence for these kids, they are contributing to the future of shlichus,” he relates, “and they are quite literally changing the world.”