TSTI summer camp volunteer pays a gift forward

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Sam Bodack, 12, of Millburn, attended preschool at Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel as a young child and volunteered this summer in the preschool’s camp program. When he was given an Amazon gift card as a thank-you gift, he immediately thought of giving back to the preschool in some meaningful way.

“I was always planning to volunteer and did not expect anything in return, so while I appreciated the gift, I’m glad I could do something nice for the kids,” Sam said. Knowing that the children enjoyed the water activities, he surprised the camp staff by using the gift card to purchase a new sprinkler and water table to enhance the campers’ water fun time.

Sam, who is entering the seventh grade at Morristown-Beard School in September, also participates in TSTI’s Wednesday program at the Interfaith Food Pantry of the Oranges and the Saturday soup kitchen there; the South Orange synagogue is one of four area houses of worship that support the food pantry and its clients. When he’s not helping out at TSTI, he enjoys baseball, reading, and spending time with friends and his younger brother.

  Morristown Beard School, Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel