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Neighbor News

Local teen to be honored for bringing hope and support to troops

Areyvut honors Billy Cook, founder of Billy's BASEballs, for his leadership and work providing cheer to our military troops home and abroad.

On Sunday, March 18, Areyvut will be hosting its Annual Breakfast where they will honor Billy Cook, a young man who has turned his passion for baseball into an instrument of positive social good. Billy Cook, a high school junior from Washington Township, New Jersey is the founder of Billy’s BASEballs, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing cheer to our military troops home.

At age 12, Billy had to do 10 hours of service for his Bar Mitzvah project. He and his mother, Phyllis, came up with the idea of writing notes of support on 100 baseballs to send to troops stationed abroad. The 100 baseballs soon became thousands, and four years later, over 12,000 people have signed Billy’s BASEballs. Billy’s events and signings yield between 6 and 1000 baseballs at a time, and he has kids as young as 2 and adults in senior residences all signing baseballs.

Areyvut and Billy’s BASEballs have been working together since 2014. Participants in Areyvut’s many summer, holiday, and school-based programs have learned about Billy’s BASEballs and have signed baseballs to send to US Troops. Billy has attended numerous Areyvut Bnai Mitzvah Fairs where he has shared his passion for making Bnai Mitzvah projects into real agents for community service and kindness.

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Recently Billy spoke at the Kehillah program at the Jewish Community Center of Paramus/Congregation Beth Tikvah. Marcia Kagedan, the Director of Education at JCCP/CBT, said that Billy is the “most inspirational young man I have ever met. Watching him over the last few years develop his presentation to our Kehillah program for pre-bar and bat mitzvah kids has been totally out of this world. He is exceptional. He comes in and asks the kids, ‘How many of you like soccer. How many of you like swimming?’ Then he says, ‘Well, my passion has always been baseball,’ and he describes the program. He is a fine young man who is going to go far.”

Areyvut’s work with Billy’s BASEballs extends beyond New Jersey. On Veterans Day, Areyvut facilitated a Billy’s BASEballs program at the Rashi School in Dedham, and earlier this week Daniel Rothner, Founder & Director, ran another program for students in Hillel Torah in Skokie, IL. At the conclusion of the program Sarah Weinstein, a general studies teacher remarked “It is so meaningful to have my Third Graders write notes to the American soldiers. It's especially touching being that my little brother is a paratrooper in the American Army, stationed overseas in Italy. I know when he receives packages from our synagogue, friends, or even strangers; he is always excited and touched to read the notes. Knowing that these baseballs will make a soldier like my brother smile warms my heart and made today even more special.”

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The Areyvut Breakfast will take place on Sunday, March 18 beginning at 9:30am at Congregation Bnai Yeshurun in Teaneck, NJ. Along with Billy, Areyvut will be honoring Janet Hod with the Community Leadership Award. The formal program will begin at 10:30 and conclude at 11:00am. For more information or to make a reservation or donation, please contact Areyvut at (201) 244-6702 or info@areyvut.org.

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