Volunteer Experiences

Written By: Paula Flagler
As a retired school teacher, I know I’ve had a significant impact on others’ lives, but I never thought I would have the opportunity to make a deep humanitarian difference in the world.
Never in my wildest dreams, did I think I would be part of this wonderful group trying to “Right–a-Wrong.” Each day I wake up, I tell myself it is going to be a great day. The sky is blue, I have my work to keep me busy, I am blessed to have friends and family that love and care about me and a roof over my head.

Post Written By: Amy Degen
I am not a spiritual person and don’t believe in the afterlife, but something greater than me is guiding my journey with respect to Bialystok.  My maternal grandfather, Henry Gold, left Bialystok around 1928 to move to Brooklyn, New York.  My mom was an only child, and both her parents died when she was in her early 20s.  I am named for these grandparents.  Continuing this awful pattern, my mom died when I was 26.  There was no one in my life to tell me about Bialystok.

Post Written By: Howie Flagler
Beginning in 2016, my wife Paula and I, have spent our summer vacations  in Bialystok, Poland engaged in the work of restoration and preservation of the city’s only remaining Jewish cemetery. Almost all of the volunteers who participate in the Bialystok Cemetery Restoration Project describe feeling that they were “called to take action,” committed to try to “Right a Wrong” that happened at this sacred space.