Boca brings it...

Wow, what a gig.
Now, I know that I play out a lot and meet a lot of people, but I have to share this experience I had last night at Congregation Bnai Israel in Boca Raton.

As part of the Mark S. Bertuch Make-A-Difference Program, we played a concert and were asked to share some experiences about risk, resilience and Jewish values. This program addresses self-esteem issues, addiction and substance abuse, sexuality, teen dating abuse, just to name a few things.

(Thanks so much to Marilyn Asofsky and Cantor Stephanie Shore and to Susan Shane-Linder for the pics, powerpoint and powerful advocacy!)

As many of you know, these topics and helping teens to build life-skills that enable them to make positive choices in their lives is EXTREMELY important to me. I spent some time in between songs sharing some stories, some challenges I've had, or that I've seen and asked what the risks are to standing up against negative forces. The teens in this community blew me away - with their openness, their understanding, their respect for one another, the way they listened to each other. I learned as much if not more than I taught.

What a gift.

Rock on, Boca...