Making Passion a Practice
For Gabby (they/them), giving back isn’t just a phase—it’s the thread running through their whole life.
They were baking cookies for families at the Ronald McDonald House as a child. For their b-mitzvah, they volunteered at the ASPCA. As a teenager, they spent a summer at a wildlife sanctuary in Costa Rica, caring for monkeys and sloths, and came home and wrote their college essay about repairing the world, tikkun olam. So when Gabby landed in Los Angeles and started looking for a way to keep that passion alive, Repair the World was the obvious answer.
They didn’t wait around to apply.
“I found out about Service Corps while on a trip to the East Coast, on my birthday! Despite being in a different time zone and having birthday plans, I knew I needed to speak to the LA program team and apply immediately.”
Service Corps members gather for orientation, the first step in a year of hands-on service across Los Angeles
Gabby had spent years assuming their path led to veterinary work. Their mind changed as they witnessed their generation experiencing a mental health crisis. “We were teenagers during COVID, and we’re living in a time when mental health is still stigmatized. I’ve always had a passion for helping people feel seen, and less alone in the world,” they said. Now preparing to begin a Master’s in Social Work program, Gabby asked Repair staff to match them with a mental health organization for their Service Corps assignment. They landed with JQ International, which provides community building, educational programs, and support services to LGBTQ+ Jews and their allies. Here, Gabby helps organize resources that support JQ International’s helpline. They also provided program support for a Pride Shabbat.
Service has also brought Gabby closer to their own Jewish community. “I grew up going to Jewish day school, and I’ve been reaching back out to my classmates to spread the word about Repair and invite them to service opportunities,” they said. “I’ve rekindled old friendships.”
That energy didn’t stop with recruiting old friends to join the Service Corps; while still in the Service Corps, Gabby became a Service Ambassador, building their own events from the ground up. They helped lead a queer Shabbat at IKAR this past June, and in August they’ll co-lead a “reverse tashlich” beach clean-up with JQ International, Adamah, Heal the Bay, and Moishe House. Ambassadors like Gabby also keep their cohort members connected outside official programming. “I just got a WhatsApp invite to an open farm day on a Saturday,” they said. “Collaboration like this lets us grow the community we already have and meet new people.”
Service Corps members celebrate a year of service, certificates in hand and a new cohort of alumni in the community
Gabby starts an MSW program this fall, but they’re not stepping back from Repair.
“The older I get, the more excuses there are to not make time for the things I care about — my community, my work, my friends. Life gets busy, but Repair gives me a way to stay connected to my Jewish identity, keep volunteering, and meet like-minded people.”
For Gabby, making that time isn’t optional — it’s how they make the world a little better, one week at a time, by turning passion into practice.
