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Amid pandemic, these young Jews and their elderly friends are finding new ways to connect
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By RENEE GHERT-ZAND When the COVID-19 pandemic began, 15-year-old Samantha Renzulli immediately thought about how it would affect her elderly friends at Jewish Senior Services, a long-term care facility in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Renzulli had met some of the residents through Better Together, a school-based Jewish intergenerational program, and she worried about their isolation.
“I was aware of the loneliness the residents must have been experiencing, as they were unable to have visitors or leave their rooms,” Renzulli said. “As I thought back to all the fun times I shared with the residents, it saddened me to think of their lack of companionship during this time.”
So she and her fellow students at the Merkaz Community High School for Judaic Studies resolved to find new ways to maintain connections to the seniors. Since mid-April, students’ families have paraded in long caravans of decorated cars around the residence every Friday as residents and staff look on from balconies. They’ve also delivered more than 130 bouquets of donated flowers for residents, and a trove of books, toys and toiletries for staff members and their families.
On Mother’s Day, Renzulli and her young friends shared with the seniors a “musical mitzvah mashup” video they created especially for them.
In normal times, Better Together, a project launched in 2014, pairs together young Jews and older Jews for meaningful in-person interactions. Middle- and high-school students from Jewish day schools, Hebrew schools and Jewish youth groups meet with the residents of senior centers or groups of seniors from local synagogues.
Faced with the pandemic, students have found innovative ways to continue connecting with their elder “buddies” despite social distancing protocols. Rather than reducing operations because in-person encounters are not possible, Better Together ended up expanding its scope of activities to meet surging interest, introducing a modified version of its program that can be replicated in communities across the country.
Called Better Together in a Box, it’s a free, downloadable curriculum designed for the upcoming summer of social distancing, when camp, internships and many other Jewish summer activities will be cancelled. Jewish organizations that commit to implementing the program are eligible for a grant to cover staffing and materials.
Better Together in a Box includes materials for teen learning sessions on Jewish values such as leadership, responsibility, empathy, wisdom and wellness. It suggests virtual intergenerational activities, including cooking, fitness and art, with detailed plans on how to implement them – synchronously or not – based on the technological ability and the teens’ and seniors’ hardware. Activities include letter writing, Mad Libs, teens creating short videos to engage with the seniors, and discussions on health and community.
“What we mean by ‘in-a-box’ is that it is a ready-to-use curriculum, and that it is designed for doing things virtually, or at least not in person,” said Bess Adler, Better Together’s program director.
The program’s pandemic-era pivot is a sign of how some Jewish initiatives are adapting and innovating to meet the needs of the times.
Organizers are hoping camps, youth groups, congregational schools and Jewish day schools will utilize the curriculum for youths ranging in age from middle school to high school. An optional writing contest offers students prizes and the possibility of getting an article published based on their summer experiences.
Yolande Dauber, 101, is eager to continue participating in Better Together this summer. A resident of The Medallion, an assisted living residence in Houston, she has enjoyed her conversations with her young buddy from the Robert M. Beren Academy, a modern Orthodox day school in Houston.
“It’s nice to mingle with young people,” said Dauber, who once worked as a middle school guidance counsellor in her hometown of Brooklyn. “They have interesting ideas, and I enjoy hearing about their plans for the future.”
Dauber misses hugging and kissing the students as they arrive at The Medallion but understands that she can’t meet them in person for the foreseeable future. Adept at using her computer and Kindle, she is confident she’ll be able to participate in online activities organized by Beren Academy students this summer.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, students from the school have been calling their senior buddies to wish them Shabbat Shalom, and created videos for them.
“Some of the residents even made selfie videos and sent them back to us in return,” said 17-year-old Natanya Ruben, who will participate in Better in a Box this summer following cancelled plans for a family trip to South Africa.
Not all seniors are able to use technology. Rabbi Ari Kellerman, the Judaic studies principal at Beren Academy’s middle and high schools, has been trying to come up with other activities. A consultant to Better Together in a Box, he devised the idea of a Buddy Box, where teens can send their elderly partners fun items such as craft project materials along with video cards with filmed clips of themselves offering greetings and project instructions.
Until now, students have produced elaborate works based on their yearlong interactions with their senior buddies, such as photography exhibitions, documentary films, large quilts, and travel scrapbooks reflecting global destinations that have played important roles in the seniors’ lives.
Now, the focus is a bit different.
“COVID poses such a big challenge,” Kellerman said. “We need to shift from thinking so much about fun activities to making sure our seniors are okay.”
Devra Aarons, director of the Contra Costa Midrasha, a community-based weekly Jewish educational program for 8th through 12th graders in Walnut Creek, California, said the emphasis now must be on maintaining relationships and cultivating empathy. Her students are partnered with residents of The Reutlinger, in nearby Danville.
“I find that the teens are very good with coming up with ideas for using videos and other tech,” Aarons said. “Maybe we’ll just focus on teaching the seniors how to use the technology at first. That could be a good way to stay connected.”
In Connecticut, Renzulli has taken the lead in designing intergenerational activities. With her planned five-week summer language-immersion program in Spain cancelled, she said one of her main priorities this summer will be focusing on “bringing love and joy” to residents of Jewish Senior Services, and “showing them and the nurses at their aid that our community is here to support them.”
Renzulli’s mother, Laurie Renzulli, said the project has helped boost her daughter’s spirits during this challenging time.
“The weekly meetings for planning and execution of the activities have helped tremendously during this time of home education and limited social interactions,” she said. “Each week there have been deliverables to accomplish, and when each weekly mitzvah hits a milestone or completion, Samantha feels she has made a positive difference in our community and the world.”
This story was sponsored by and produced in collaboration with a foundation that wishes to remain anonymous, and is part of a series titled “On the Bright Side: Stories of innovation and resilience from Jewish non-profits.” This article was produced by JTA’s native content team.
Features
Musings from Dizengoff Street – by Bruce Brown
(August 8, 2026)
Outside Basimta Café in Central Jerusalem. Love the red shirt against a tiny sea of black. Not sure I am shrugging because of the ultra-orthodox uproar over a Jerusalem café operating on Shabbat or the lack of an ultra-orthodox uproar over a Jerusalem café operating on Shabbat. For the last six weeks Israeli headlines shouted about the cafe chaos. With the ultra-religious blocking entrances and storming the café. While shouting ‘Shabbos! Shabbos!’ Upsetting the secular amongst us just wanting to enjoy our Saturday iced matchas. So the wife and I thought we would check it out. And. Yes. Buy something to support the business. Uproar. Not. Blocked entrances. Not. Storming the café. Not. Albeit there were police barriers separating the devout protesters from the coffee drinkers. The protesters being just a few dozen black clad, pious Jews. Mostly teenagers. And yes. Shouting ‘Shabbos! Shabbos!’ Certainly underwhelming in its reported mayhem. Reminds me of the famous saying misattributed to Mark Twain – “If you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed. If you do, you’re misinformed.” But I did enjoy my iced matcha.
(August 6, 2026)
Here we go again. Another round of forever negotiations. As someone who negotiates for a living. The way things are going in the straits. If I had to recommend a book on the subject to a new hire. Between The Art of the Deal, A Presidential Edition by Donald J. Trump or The Real Art of the Deal by the Mullahs of Iran with a special forward by the IRGC. Well. I would choose the latter.
(August 3)
Bravo Yoav Segalovitz, Liberal Yesh Atid MK and Monsour Abbas, United Arab Ra’am MK and party head. For breaking a glass ceiling where a Jewish lawmaker joins an Arab political party. No less a political earthquake in my little shtetl. Which can significantly impact coalition block arithmetic and posturing and strategy in the upcoming elections. Now Ra’am can be considered a legitimate ‘Zionist’ partner when forming coalition blocks and potentially pushing the ‘center left/right’ party over the 60 seat majority threshold. In our crazy parliamentary democracy defined by a multi-party (about fourteen!!), proportional representation system. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, Israel’s proportional representation model of governance is the best parliamentary democracy system except for all other forms of working democracies. Stay tuned for more amateurish political musings as we move towards Israel’s 26th national election – five of them held since 2019.
(August 1)
Although both sides say they are open to diplomacy. Neither really trusts the other. And American military action, or its threat, continues. I read headlines in the middle of the night -it’s a nervous habit lately– that the Dynamic Duo of Trump and Netanyahu may again strike in unison. Possibly this weekend. Yikes! Prompting me, at 2:30 AM, to dash around the house stocking my safe room. Bottled water. Canned food. Medicines. Documents. The beat goes on….
If it’s crazy here. It’s insane in Italy. With a recent online ‘Jew Hunt’ in the Milan area. Before being removed, the digital forms urged reportings of Israelis and Italian Jews staying in local hotels. The infamous Global Sumud Movement -yes, the one coordinating ‘peace and humanitarian’ flotillas to Gaza- was somehow connected. Although they deny involvement?! This deranged decree was looking to identify Zionist tourism and Zionist neo-colonization in Italy. I’ll stick with stocking the saferoom.
Then there’s New York Mayor Mamdani, a Global Sumud Movement supporter, threatening to arrest Prime Minister Netanyahu if he comes to New York. But since discovered he has no legal right for such a grandstanding, antisemitic, anti-Israel, anti-Western, anti-democratic antic. Maybe Mandami should be arrested! Or at least impeached. For being a grandstanding, antisemitic, anti-Israel, anti-Western, anti-democratic mayor.
Here’s a post Bruce sent us Friday, July 31:
WARTIME MUSINGS
Should credible threats against FLOTUS and ‘FSOTUS’ (first son..) not be justification to attack first.
As for yesterday’s summit. Netanyahu really can’t win. Explainer. If Trump now attacks without victory its ’cause of Netanyahu. If Trump now attacks with victory its ’cause of Trump. And, in Israel, if Trump doesn’t attack -victory or not- Netanyahu failed in his eighth meeting with Trump. And if Trump does attack -victory or not- half the country will vilify Bibi anyway. Missing a permutation?
Ya. I know. Kinda’ need a definition of victory for that musing to work.
And here in my little shtetle. We go to sleep unsure if there will be a code red in the middle of the night. And if not. We wake up thinking it will be tonight. How do you define stress?
Seemed like an appropriate way to end this musing.
Bruce Brown is a former Winnipegger who made aliyah to Israel over 35 years ago. Bruce first began writing for us – in his own inimitable style, in 2012, during what was known as “Operation Pillar of Defense.” His occasional musings on aspects of life in Israel that were far from what you’d typically read in other reports from Israel were hugely popular – both in the print Jewish Post & News and on this website.
We’re now glad to report that Bruce is back writing for us – this time on a regular basis. We will post Bruce’s reports as they arrive – with the date of each post at the beginning of that post.
Here’s some information about Bruce – and awards he’s received for his writing:
Bruce Brown. Canadian born. Now living in Israel (for a long time). Bruce works in Israel’s hi-tech sector by day and, in spurts, is a somewhat inspired writer by night. He received the American Jewish Press Association’s award for writing excellence in 2019 and 2025. And wrote the 1998 satire, “An Israeli is….” Bruce’s musings are political, social, economic and personal. With lots of biting, contrarian, sardonic and irreverent insight.
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Features
Israel pavilion ambassadors – then and now
By BERNIE BELLAN Given that Folklorama is on again and the Israel pavilion – Shalom Square, is in full swing, I thought it timely to resurrect an article I first posted to this website in August 2023.
But before reading that article, I wanted you to see who this year’s ambassadors are for Shalom Square:
It was back in 2023, however, that I set out to answer a question that I had asked our readers to help answer: Where was the very first Israel pavilion located? Some readers had thought it was the Golden Age Club, which used to be located on Pritchard and Salter. But others weren’t so sure. Here then is what I wrote back in August 2023 – when, with the help of a librarian at the Winnipeg Public Library, I was able to solve the riddle of where the first Israel pavilion was located:
It was earlier in August 2023 that I had raised a number of questions about the history of the Israel pavilion at Folklorama.
Among those questions were: Where was the first Israel pavilion located and when did the Israel pavilion actually become a permanent fixture in the YMHA on Hargrave (before moving to its current home in the Asper Campus)?
As part of my search for answers to those questions I turned to David Cohen, who had long been the coordinator of the Israel pavilion when it was located on Hargrave, but who didn’t step into that role until 1975.
David thought that the Israel pavilion hadn’t moved to Hargrave until 1974, but he wasn’t sure where the first Israel pavilion had been located.
I tried to find information using the Winnipeg Public Library online digital archive. In case you didn’t know, anyone with a library card can access the library’s online archive. You can also have access to newspaperarchive.com through the library’s digital archive. Newspaperarchive.com is an invaluable reference tool for journalists especially – or anyone wanting to access old newspaper archives, for that matter, but ordinarily you would need a subscription to newspaperarchive.com in order to use it. For some reason, however, the search function in the Winnipeg Public Library’s digital search engine didn’t produce results when I entered the word “Folklorama.”
As a result I called the Winnipeg Public Library for assistance and received great help from someone by the name of Louis-Phillipe. After taking my information, Louis-Phillipe phoned me to say that he had found out that the library had compiled a file of press clippings related to Folklorama going back to the very first year, 1970.
Further, Louis-Phillipe said, he had found a list of the 22 pavilions in that first year of Folklorama, along with where they were located. It turns out that the Israel pavilion was actually located in two different venues that first year: the Rosh Pina and the Shaarey Zedek.
The next day I also heard from reader Phyllis Dana, who confirmed that the Israel Pavilion had been in both synagogues. Phyllis also remembered that the only food served that first year was honey cake.
But the pièce de resistance came when I heard from reader Marilyn Breitman (née Stitz), who now lives in Calgary, when she phoned me on Monday, August 21 (which is when she received the August 16 issue of the paper with my story about Folklorama).
Marilyn told me that, not only did she remember that the first Israel pavilion alternated between the Rosh Pina and the Shaarey Zedek, she had actually been the female representative of the Israel pavilion that first year. Her title, Marilyn said, was simply “Jewish.”
But, as you might also recall, the entire confusion over where the first Israel pavilion was located began with an email I had received from Roz Greenfeld, who had written to correct my mistake when I had written in the August 2 issue that the Israel pavilion had been located in the YMHA from the very beginning.
Roz pointed out that, in 1971, the second year of Folklorama, the Israel pavilion was located in “Council House” or, as it was better known, “The Golden Age Club,” on Pritchard and Salter. How did she remember that? Roz was the female representative of the pavilion that year. Her title, as I found out was “Miss Judea,” she said.
So, if the Israel pavilion was located at both the Rosh Pina and Shaarey Zedek in that first year of Folkorama, and in the Golden Age Club that second year, where was it after that?
It was left to Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada archivist Andrew Morrison to come up with the answer to that question. Andrew informed me that the Israel pavilion did indeed move to the YMHA in 1972 and remained there for the next 25 years, until it moved to the Asper Campus in 1997.
There was a further footnote to the story, which is when I decided to try my luck with the Winnipeg Public Library’s online archive one more time. This time, rather than searching for “Folklorama,” I tried searching for old copies of both the Free Press and the Tribune from August 1970. I did manage to get results for the Tribune and when I entered a specific search within the Tribune I found a picture of all the famale representatives of pavilions – in bathing suits.
It turned out – and this was corroborated by both Marilyn Breitman and Roz Greenfeld, the female representatives had to parade in unison – in bathing suits, as part of Folklorama festivities. Each year, as well, a queen of Folklorama was chosen. Neither Marilyn nor Roz was made queen, both of them told me, although Roz was voted “Miss Congeniality.”
In addition to finding out about the early days of the Israel pavilion, I also learned that the Chai dancers were not regular performers at the Israel pavilion in those early years – as they eventually did become. Chai performers would dance only one night in those first years, with other entertainment the other nights.
I did enlist Andrew Morrison’s help once again and did find that Chai performed only one evening during the first few years of Folklorama – from 1970 to 1976. In 1977 Chai began performing every night of Folklorama, but there were other performers on hand as well, including Jerry Maslowsky and Rabbi Yosel Rosenzweig. In 1978 the Chai Folk Ensemble was the featured entertainment every evening; however, a notice that appeared in our paper did say that whistler Harvey Pollock would “be on hand” to entertain – whatever that meant.
While some may wonder of what earth shaking importance all this is, I ask: Isn’t it fun to look back in time – for just a little while, instead of worrying about more immediate problems, such as global warming, inflation, terrorist attacks in Israel, and whether Donald Trump will be president while he’s in jail?
