Feeding the hungry Inspired by a family culture of volunteerism, and her own bent toward helping others, Mira McMahon, 16, of Asheville, saw something missing in her community and decided to create it herself. When it came time for her to select a service project as part of the bat mitzvah process (a traditional Jewish coming-of-age rite of passage), she went a step further, creating a long-term opportunity for teen volunteers. After discovering the Interfaith Youth Core, a service organization for college students, she started her own organization, Interfaith Teen Alliance, bringing teens from different faiths together to volunteer in the community. With help from local farmers and gardeners, religious youth group leaders, and the Mountain Area Interfaith Forum, along with a grant from Asheville GreenWorks and a seed donation from Sow True Seeds in Asheville, the group worked on a community garden in Montford. It donated the first harvest of about a dozen pounds of carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, beans, herbs and other vegetables this summer to MANNA FoodBank. Growing food is “something tangible that builds on itself,” symbolizing the growing collaboration among those of different faiths working together to help others, says Mira. “Through volunteering and interfaith dialogue, we can better understand each other and help the community at the same time,” she says. “Others will notice us and see what great work youth can do - you can influence others no matter how old you are.” The small group meets monthly to tend the garden and with the ending growing season, they’ll tackle indoor projects like working in soup kitchens at homeless shelters, Mira says. Meetings end with a weekly discussion topic and members swap stories about their lives and religious experiences. “It’s a good mix of hands-on work and real life conversation,” says Mira, whose mom, Lauren Rosenfeld, a lifelong educator who directs Congregation Beth HaTephila’s religious school, advised Mira in the beginning stages of the organization. Mira also meets with area youth groups of various faiths to encourage them to join her organization, becoming “more comfortable” making phone calls, planning group meetings and speaking
Mira McMahon checks on okra plants in the Montford community garden. She volunteers at the garden as part of the Interfaith Teen Alliance, a group she founded. The garden’s summer harvest was donated to MANNA FoodBank. BILL SANDERS/WSANDERS@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM
in front of people, she says. “Hopefully, the group will grow with more people and expand into something big and powerful and self-sustaining so that when I go to college, it will continue,” she says. Meanwhile, for Mira, the lessons learned from the experience of moving an idea forward has positively impacted every aspect of her life, both personally and professionally, says Rosenberg.
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“She’s learned not give up too soon, to have patience and if something doesn’t work after the first attempt, to figure out another strategy,” says Rosenfeld. “Through volunteering, she can see firsthand the degree to which she has an impact — that through her energy, effort, and intention, people’s lives change for better,” says Rosenfeld. Continues on Page 8
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