Born and raised in Montreal. Co-founded Citizen’s Kitchen – a Tel-Aviv based wartime meal operation providing food to anyone in need, whether its soldiers, displaced families, hostages families, Miluim families, holocaust survivors, Nova survivors or anyone else. To date, Citizen’s Kitchen sent out over 100,000 meals and raised over 350,000$ from individual donors to help fund the operation. The initiative also grew to become a community for Olim, providing a community for them with events and opportunities to meet and mingle. Citizen’s Kitchen also have Masa interns from career programs on board at almost any given moment.
MEET ALICIA:
Tell us about Your Work/project:
On October 8th, 2023, a day after the darkest day in recent Jewish history, sisters Aliya and Shaendl from Citrus and Salt cooking studio in Tel Aviv put out a call for volunteers to come help cook. Having been familiar with the studio, I immediately signed up to help. What started as helping bake cakes to deliver along with the meals going to army bases and displaced families quickly evolved into me taking a more active role in shaping the project, which we called Citizen’s Kitchen.
When this project started, I put my freelance work on hold to focus on getting the kitchen up and running. I put together a team to help me with social media, email marketing, PR, and fundraising, and spearheaded different projects that helped shine a light on Citizen’s Kitchen’s work so that we could run fundraising campaigns and build a community around the cause.
At the start, many of our volunteers were Olim and Citizen’s Kitchen became a safe space where Olim could come volunteer and find solace in one another. I also established different initiatives focused on Olim like English group therapy, weekly Shabbat dinners, holiday community events, and more. To date, we’ve hosted over 3,000 volunteers from all around the world and continue to send out meals to soldiers and families.
What is your proudest achievement?
Every time we get a video message of thanks back from an army unit that hasn’t had a warm meal in ages, I feel an overwhelming sense of pride and accomplishment. I feel proud that I’ve helped hire and train new Masa fellows to help me and the project reach its goals. Having started my journey in Israel eight years ago on a Masa program, hiring my own Masa interns felt very full circle. Then, seeing them implement and succeed with new initiatives and watching them take an active role in establishing the future of Citizen’s Kitchen makes me proud.
How would you describe the impact of your Masa program on your life and professional path?
I believe that Masa taught me the importance of working together as a community, which is something I wholeheartedly believe in. Nothing could have been accomplished by one individual, rather individuals coming together to work towards a common goal. Masa gave me the foundation of volunteer work and helping others with the skills I have, whether it was teaching English to Israeli elementary-aged students or using my marketing and content knowledge to help shape Citizen’s Kitchen, I believe Masa taught me the importance of giving back to my community through effort, intention, and compassion.
Who is your role model?
Everyone I work with is incredible in their own right, especially Aliya and Shaendl, the sisters who turned their business into this incredible volunteer initiative. I saw firsthand how difficult it’s been for them this past year to run a small business during a war, but they keep pushing forward because they believe in their cause and it’s inspiring to see. I get a lot of motivation from the soldiers we’ve sent our meals to. The fact that after all this time they still show up and defend us in some of the most difficult conditions while still expressing gratitude to organizations like ours motivates me on days when I feel like I’ve hit a wall. I know that if they can keep going in this impossible task that’s had them leave their families and lives behind, we can keep going too to help show them that the country’s citizens are behind them.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I never thought I’d be helping run a non-profit, but when the war broke out I couldn’t picture myself doing anything else. In the future, I hope to continue using my knowledge and skills for meaningful causes, whether that’s working as a writer for various non-profits or taking a more hands-on role with new projects as I did with Citizen’s Kitchen.
What is your advice for young Jews around the world who want to make a difference?
Just start. Even if you start small or you feel like you don’t have the skills yet, you can learn them on the way. The fear of failure is what will hold you back more than anything else, so taking the first step into something new and unfamiliar is the best way to even begin making a difference. If you’re passionate about your cause, let that be the driving force behind what pushes you to take the first step.