Calories for a Cause at Har Shalom Fundraiser

What if you could completely justify your next sweet indulgence by chalking it up to a good cause?  That is exactly what patrons of the Baskin Robbins in Cabin John Shopping Center did on Tuesday evening at a Dine Out fundraising event hosted by the youth program at Congregation Har Shalom.

"We raise money all year and at the end of the year, the kids choose where it goes," said Julie Ashin, the Youth Director at Congregation Har Shalom.  "They work hard to raise it, so it should be their choice where and how it is donated."

Ashin, a second-grade teacher by day, conducts a youth program at the Potomac synagogue that is geared toward instilling religious education through social activities.  The program is open to children from kindergarten through high school and Ashin also coordinates an outreach program for college students. 

"The youth program is truly based in the community.  Everything the kids do has a Jewish tie to it, but in a fun, interactive way," Ashin said.  "Everything is social, so often they don't even realize that there is an element of religious education involved."

Ashin's family was very active at Har Shalom when she was growing up in Potomac and she says that her childhood experiences at the synagogue played a very important role in shaping the person she became as an adult.  When she returned to the region after college, she wanted to give back some of those experiences through the youth program.

"My goal is to show [the children] what Judaism is and help them take what they learn and apply it to their lives however they want," Ashin said.  "Through all of these activities we are teaching leadership roles and these are skills that they will later use in their careers and in real life."

The youth program at Har Shalom is open to any student in the community and currently has approximately 200 participants.  The only requirement is that the student is Jewish, but membership in Congregation Har Shalom is not necessary, Ashin said. 

Matt Balfour, 15, has been an active participant in the youth program at Har Shalom for the past three years and the USY activities – the Har Shalom youth club for high school students – are the highlight of his week, he said.   

"It has absolutely taken over my life," Balfour said.  "I love it.  I'm there all the time."

On Tuesday evening, Balfour had staked out the cash register at Baskin Robbins and asked every customer who approached the counter to say "Har Shalom" as the cashier rang up their order so that 20 percent of their purchase would be donated to USY's charity fund.  His textbooks and homework assignments were spread out on a table nearby.  He was not getting much work done, but he did not seem too concerned about having to make up the homework hours later in the evening.

"It's cool," Balfour said.  "This is fun and we get to represent our favorite activity in the larger community."

The Baskin Robbins Dine Out event was the first of its kind for Har Shalom, but USY members are already planning similar events at local restaurants, Ashin said.  But at Baskin Robbins, Ashin was trying to delay the inevitable -- giving in to her passion for the chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream that was in abundant supply in the shop's freezers.

"If I start now, I'll just have to keep going for the next three hours," Ashin said.  "But it's all for a good cause, so that's ok, right?"

Editor's note: In an earlier version of this story, we misspelled Matt Balfour's last name. We regret the error.