Gurwin Jewish Nursing and Rehabilitation Center volunteers recently were honored with the “Students Building Bridges” award.
The honor recognizes community youth for their efforts in creating a more civil society and is part of the Yom HaShoah Holocaust Remembrance Program, sponsored by the Suffolk County State Senate and Assembly Delegations.
Presented by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Long Island at a ceremony at the Gurwin Center earlier this month, two teens were honored; Niara Magezi (Dix Hills) of Commack High School and Brennan Rosenblatt (Melville) of Half Hollow Hills East High School.
Magezi has been volunteering at Gurwin for three years, spending time with the residents and assisting staff on the nursing units, which has given her the opportunity to learn about the many paths in healthcare. She is planning for a career in the medical field, specializing in dermatology.
Rosenblatt started volunteering as a sophomore and befriended many residents. Now a graduating senior heading to Georgia Tech to study engineering this fall, he said that, “the time spent with his Gurwin friends is as important to him as it is to them.”
This year’s Yom HaShoah Holocaust Remembrance Program featured guest speaker and Holocaust survivor Meir Usherovitz, who recounted his life as a Jewish youth in Poland during World War II and his imprisonment in several Polish concentration camps, including the notorious Auschwitz.