Six weeks ago a group of high school students arrived in Kansas City representing the American Jewish Society for Service, and our 60th summer of service to America.  These teenagers came from across the country and chose to spend the summer volunteering in a community very different from the ones’ they call home. AJSS came to Kansas City to give, yet we received so much more in return. 
   AJSS was welcomed with open arms into Kansas City.  For six weeks our participants have volunteered, explored, experienced and grown, both individually and as a group. Using hammers, shovels, paint brushes and our own hands, our group has worked to help those less fortunate than themselves. And people have thanked us for our help.  But now it is now our turn to say thank you. 
   In helping those less fortunate, AJSS is fortunate to have many organizations and individuals to thank. There are countless people who have helped us navigate our hurdles to insure the success that our trip has enjoyed. 
   Our home for the past six weeks was Congregation Oheb Sholom. AJSS would like to thank the congregation for giving us the opportunity to live within their walls and create a community of our own while volunteering in the Kansas City community. AJSS would also like to thank Heartland Habitat for Humanity for giving us plenty of work and making us feel at home. Many other agencies across the county gave our participants countless hours of meaningful service work, the cornerstone of our summer. 
   There are too many organizations to name and thank individually, but without them, our volunteers would have been unable to experience such a memorable and worthwhile summer.
   Our Jewish faith teaches us that the Hebrew word for giving, NaTaN, is a palindrome. For when one gives to another with the sole purpose of effectuating change, what one receives in return is as great or greater than the efforts expended.  Thank you Kansas City for giving AJSS so much; we would never be successful without the generosity, hospitality and goodwill of everyone we encounter.
Lawrence G. Green
Chair, American Jewish Society for Service