Finding Family

by Ishita Singh

Currently, more than 44,000 Holocaust survivors live in New York City, according to the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors. Many of them find that they need support as they age. iVolunteer, created in 2007, aims to help these survivors by providing them with companionship and assistance.  Executive directors Sheva and Tzvi Tauby pair survivors with volunteers, who are carefully chosen based on their background and interests.

Sheva Tauby partnered Rebecca Assaraf, 19, with Joseph Griliches, 86, in July 2009. Since then, Assaraf has regularly visited Griliches at the DeWitt Nursing Home in the Upper East Side, bonding over discussions of history, politics and Judaism. They have become like family.

Finding Family from Columbia Visual Journalism on Vimeo.