Needham Youth Services

Left to right: Needham Business Representative, Aaron Krug and Stacey Krug (not shown) owner of Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt, Rachel Goodman, October RAY Recipient, Liz Loveless, Clinician at Youth Services.

October 2015 Recipient – Rachel Goodman

Rachel Goodman is a senior at Needham High School. She was nominated by; Carol Sargent for her volunteering with the Needham Youth Services Peer Tutor program, she has been volunteering with the Needham Youth Services Peer Tutor Program for two years, assisting kids with schoolwork and acting as a sort of “role model.”

Rachel has also volunteered at Gateways, a religious school for kids with special needs, weekly for two years. She is a “one-to-one” volunteer which is additional support for a student during class and social time. Rachel has also been involved with a program called Diller Teen Fellows, which is a leadership and community service program for local Jewish teenagers. Through the fellowship, Rachel served meals in homeless shelters, spent time at a nursing home, and taught students about the history of Israel. She recently completed this program, however was inspired by all of the activities they organized, she started her own community service project. Rachel along with some of her friends from the program collect toys and activities and create gift baskets with the items (the project is called “Bravery Baskets”) for the siblings of children in hospitals, to show that that they are still cared for and noticed during such tough times for their families.

At Needham High School, Rachel is involved in the National Honor Society, UNICEF Club, and is on the Ultimate Frisbee team.

Watch the ceremony honoring Rachel at: https://youtu.be/FOiiamZNRS4

For more information please visit www.needhamma.gov/youth/ray