Nassau County Youth Honored For Acts of Goodness & Kindness
Rabbi Anchelle Perl is out to protect Nassau County’s youth. For the 19th consecutive year, 31 students from throughout Long Island, were nominated for their charitable and community activities and received the prestigious Good Deed Awards at a VIP ceremony attended by numerous Nassau County notables.
“The Good Deed Awards for Long Island Teenagers was our response to hearing too many negative things about young people” says Rabbi Anchelle Perl, director of the Chabad of Mineola NY. “We constantly hear and read of young people criticized by parents, teachers & the media - and we decided what the community needs was more exposure to kids who are doing good things.”
Certainly nobody was saying anything negative about these high school students - Jewish and non-Jewish - who were honored on Lag B’Omer at Cong Beth Sholom Chabad of Mineola.
“We were not looking for scholastic achievements”, added Marna Moseson, the ranking Chairperson of the Blue Ribbon Awards Selection Committee. “We looked for evidence of effort, leadership, volunteerism that has been an inspiration to others. Acts of goodness & kindness was the criterion.”
What goes around comes around. In 1996 Elmont High School student Carrie Solages received a Good Deed Award. He is now a leading legislature in Nassau County government and returned this year as a VIP Good Deed presenter, himself.
Solages noted “religion is no factor, and was not considered at all in deciding which students would receive awards. I believe that commitment to the community knows no religion. If all the dreams and aspirations of these 31 young people were to become true at once, this would be a beautiful – perfect world.”