A Young Man’s Wisdom

Jacob Stolz
Family Promise is very fortunate to have so many great volunteers in the Network Sheltering Program. Very important among the volunteers are kids that give up their time to help. They play, eat and interact with the children in the Network, making new friends and giving the moms some well deserved “me time”. Jacob Stolz is a great example.

Jacob’s family belongs to the Glen Rock Jewish Center, a support group for Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. That’s where Jacob got involved, spending evenings with our families’ kids. But Jacob wanted to do more. With the encouragement of his Rabbi, Neil Tow, Jacob started coming to Family Promise’s Family Center in Ridgewood on weekends to play with the children.

Jacob’s time with the Family Promise families inspired him to make it his Mitzvah project. While he gave a lot, he also learned a lot. This is an excerpt from Jacob’s project:

“Throughout my journey, I have learned many things. I once had a biased opinion of what it meant to be homeless. I thought that they would be needy, dirty and not able to contribute to society. I discovered that while in “Family Promise” those children were in school, their parents were either looking for jobs or beginning a new one, and participated in religious activities. Through listening to conversations, I realize that the parents share great concerns about the same issues in our world that my family had concerns about. They had a lot to offer in skills and ideas.

The life lesson we all need to take away today is one that you probably have been hearing your entire life- It’s the Golden Rule: Treat others the way you would want to be treated.”

Jacob, thank you so much for all you do for the families of Family Promise.