COMMUNITY NEWS
Miss Teen Long Beach is Healing the World Dr. Daniel Shere | Volunteer
As a child, Ruby Mayo was a participant in the Early Childhood Education Center and Camp Komaroff at the Alpert Jewish Community Center. Today, Ruby is the newly crowned Miss Teen Long Beach 2022. Miss Long Beach is a pageant that was created by the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, and since 2008, has been run by Justin Rudd’s 501(c)3 Community Action Team. The pageant awards several titles, ranging from Little Miss to Mrs. The competition emphasizes contestants’ contributions to the local community. Participants are evaluated on personal interviews, evening attire, upscale-casual wear, and a final question from the judges. Believing it is ‘better to say oops than what if,’ Ruby made the decision to participate. Though initially intimidating, she ultimately found, “It wasn’t too scary,” and had a very positive experience.
Mazel Tov to Ruby as her Miss Teen Long Beach reign commences. Ruby’s outlook on life is inspired by the Jewish value Tikkun Olam (heal the world), and helping others – a mindset that has manifested in every phase of her life. In elementary school, she was a fifth grade peer tutor. In middle school, she was inspired by a family friend who had Angelman Syndrome, a genetic disorder, and donated 10% of her Bat Mitzvah gifts to research on the condition. Ruby continued her commitment to helping others when she entered high school. She was drawn to the Best Buddies program at Woodrow Wilson High School, a club dedicated to ending the social, physical, and economic isolation of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Ruby would join students with special needs for lunch every Monday,
and would often see them on campus and take time to say hello and make connections. In addition, the future Miss Teen was involved with the Eco Friendly Bruins Club, a member of the Associated Student Body, and a participant and supporter of the Special Olympics. Upon transferring to Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Ruby identified feeding the hungry as an interest and need among the student body, and began Action Against Hunger, a club that now has more than 50 members of which she is president. Not one to be hampered by the limits of the pandemic, she retained club membership and volunteers via social media. They collected food and developed a program to equip volunteers with “to-go” aid kits for people in need. The kits consist of non-perishable grocery items collected by the club members, and distributed while driving and scouring the neighborhoods for those in need. Ruby’s passion for service has extended far beyond her Long Beach community. Her recent travels via Global Leadership Adventures brought her to the Dominican Republic, along with a delegation of other teens from around the world for a two-week medical mission. The participants created a pop-up medical clinic where Ruby assisted with patient intake and the distribution of medical supplies. Despite language barriers and learning curves, the group faithfully served over 100 families during their stay. Mazel Tov to Ruby as her Miss Teen Long Beach reign commences. We salute her for making a difference in the community and the world. Her upcoming official appearances include the Long Beach Polar splash on January 15, and later in the year there will be parades, the National Adult Spelling Bee, and many other exciting community activities. Connect with Ruby on Instagram @missteenlongbeach2022 and her club, Action Against Hunger @actionagainsthunger_md.
Synagogue Directory Beit HaLev I
P.O. Box 2279 Seal Beach, CA 90740 Rabbi Galit Levy-Slater 562.493.2680 duets@icloud.com www.galityomtov.com R Beth David
6100 Hefley St. Westminster, CA 92683 Rabbi Nancy Myers 714.892.6623 tbdavid@templebethdavid.org www.templebethdavid.org O Chabad of Los Alamitos & Cypress
12340 Seal Beach Blvd. Suite B-219 Seal Beach, CA 90740 Rabbi Shmuel Marcus 714.828.1851 smarcus@jewishcypress.com www.chabadlosal.com
Chabad of West Orange County/ O Congregation Adat Israel 5052 Warner Ave. Huntington Beach, CA 92649 Rabbi Aron David Berkowitz 714.846.2285 info@chabadhb.com www.chabadhb.com
O Congregation Lubavitch
3981 Atlantic Ave. Long Beach, CA 90807 Rabbi Yitzchok Newman 562.596.1681 yitzyg@aol.com
I Congregation Shir Chadash
6440 Del Amo Blvd. Lakewood, CA 90713 Rabbi Karen Isenberg 562.429.0715 csclakewood@dslextreme.com www.csclakewood.org
Congregation Sholom of Leisure World, Seal Beach C Mail to: PO Box 2901 Seal Beach, CA 90740 1421 Northwood Road Seal Beach, CA 90740 President Carol A. Stern Levine Phone: Direct 562.505.3622 Phone: Membership 562.430.7040 congsholomlwsb@gmail.com I P’nai Or
3955 N. Studebaker Road Long Beach, CA 90808 Email: info@pnaior.org Website: www.pnaior.org
Shul By The Shore O
3801 E. Willow Street Long Beach, California 90815 Rabbi Abba Perelmuter 562.621.9828 rabbi@shulbytheshore.org www.shulbytheshore.org R Temple Beth Ohr
15721 E. Rosecrans Ave. La Mirada, CA 90638 Rabbi Dr. Mark Goldfarb Phone: 714.521.6765 office@tbolm.org www.tbolm.org
C Temple Beth Shalom
Ruby working in a Dominican Republic health clinic this past summer.
3635 Elm Avenue Long Beach, CA 90807 Rabbi David Cantor 562.426.6413 office@tbslb.org www.tbslb.org R Temple Israel
269 Loma Ave. Long Beach, CA 90803 Rabbi Scott Fox 562.434.0996 info@tilb.org www.tilb.org
Temple Ner Tamid of Downey I 10629 Lakewood Boulevard Downey, CA 90241 Rabbi Daniel Mehlman 562.861.9276 C Conservative I Independent
Ruby, Miss Teen Long Beach at this year’s Long Beach Turkey Trot.
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JANUARY – FEBRUARY 2022
O Orthodox R Reform
