{"id":10483,"date":"2024-10-21T12:06:49","date_gmt":"2024-10-21T12:06:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/?p=10483"},"modified":"2024-10-21T12:06:50","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T12:06:50","slug":"student-spotlight-ellie-usdin-form-vi-smiles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/2024\/10\/student-spotlight-ellie-usdin-form-vi-smiles\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Spotlight: Ellie Usdin (Form VI) Smiles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are endless ways to make someone smile: tell a good joke, give someone a good hug, do them a favor etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ellie Usdin (Form VI), who radiates positivity, made it her mission to make as many Upper West Siders smile as possible, choosing community service as her smile generator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Usdin and her cousin, Sydney Shankman, a senior at Bronx High School of Science, started an organization in 2021 called \u201cWest Side Smiles\u201d (WSS) (not to be confused with any UWS dentist offices), which targets homelessness in NYC by creating hygiene supply kits for those currently in shelters\u2013 containing the necessities like toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, deodorant etc \u2013 and hosting programming to involve the local community and destigmatize homelessness, according to the West Side Smiles website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the rate of homelessness in NYC grew exponentially,<\/a> even with certain government measures in place. \u201cI remember watching news reports about it,\u201d said Usdin. \u201cI remember being in my apartment and feeling helpless.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From their desire to help and pent-up COVID energy, Usdin and Shankman started researching homelessness in NYC, figuring out small ways to support others around them. They hosted their first event in December 2021, a small Zoom \u201cGame Night\u201d with family and friends, which raised enough money to package 50 hygiene kits and send them to a shelter.<\/p>\n\n\n

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West Side Smiles\u2019 First Event<\/em>
Source: West Side Smiles Website<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

West Side Smiles (WSS) partnered with the Bowery Mission<\/a> and the Covenant House<\/a>, both homeless shelters in NYC. From the first day, \u201cwe were met with such a positive response,\u201d said Usdin.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Donating kits at the Bowery Mission<\/em>
Source: West Side Smiles Website<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Since its inception, WSS has taken off with bake sales, kit packaging days, and other fundraising events. One of the most notable, and noble, was when Usdin, as founder, ran the Real Simple Women\u2019s Half Marathon in April. \u201cI love running, I\u2019ve been doing it since elementary school,\u201d said Usdin, who currently captains Fieldston\u2019s cross-country team for the third year in a row. \u201cI wanted to combine my passion for running with West Side Smiles.\u201d Usdin created a GoFundMe, promoted it on social media and sent it around her community. \u201cAs I was running, it felt like I wasn\u2019t just running it for myself,\u201d said Usdin. \u201cI was doing it for something more.\u201d She plans to run again this spring.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Ellie\u2019s Half Marathon<\/em>
Source: West Side Smiles Website<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Shankman and Usdin both credit their families for the support. \u201cIt\u2019s become a family mission,\u201d said Usdin. \u201cThey\u2019ve watched us and the organization grow.\u201d WSS has the air of a family affair: Shankman and Usdin\u2019s grandparents love to attend, and as they buzz around, overseeing the event, the two founders have to stop for a grandmotherly kiss of the cheek every once in a while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Usdin’s brother, Jordan Usdin (Form III), helping move supplies<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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An event at Rodeph Sholom<\/em>
Source: Lily Saal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

While she\u2019s learned a lot from her family, Usdin attributes many of her moral beliefs to her religion \u2013 Judaism. While attending a Jewish preschool and Rodeph Sholom Synagogue for Hebrew School, Usdin learned \u201ctikkun olam,\u201d which means repairing the world. \u201cI think of it as doing good for others,\u201d said Usdin. \u201cIt\u2019s the first thing I think of when I think of Judaism.\u201d Tying back to their Jewish community, Usdin and Shankman got their congregation involved by organizing and hosting multiple events at Rodeph.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Source: West Side Smiles Website<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Starting in November, WSS will begin events at elementary schools: hosting presentations to destigmatize homelessness and getting the kids to help hands-on by packaging hygiene kits. Awarded the Karma for Cara<\/a> grant, WSS has an increased budget for kit supplies. Currently, WSS is in talks to lead the NYC Winter Walk<\/a>, which spreads awareness about homelessness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFieldston teaches us to appreciate and interact with the NYC community,\u201d said Usdin, who encourages Fieldston students to get involved with WSS and their community. \u201cThis is my opportunity to do so,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she speaks about her organization, Usdin glows with an imperceptible air of servitude, as well as the down-to-earthness needed to recognize her own privilege. \u201cThere\u2019s no cure for homelessness, it\u2019s too large an issue,\u201d said Usdin. \u201cAs a teenager, I can\u2019t fix this issue on my own, but by donating hygiene supplies and basic necessities, we\u2019re hoping we can take one small step to help anyone navigate this moment in their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donate to West Side Smiles\u2019 Winter Walk Page: https:\/\/secure.qgiv.com\/event\/winterwalk2025-nyc\/team\/974168\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

West Side Smiles Website: https:\/\/sites.google.com\/view\/westsidesmiles<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

West Side Smiles Instagram: https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/westsidesmiles_\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are endless ways to make someone smile: tell a good joke, give someone a good hug, do them a favor etc. Ellie Usdin (Form VI), who radiates positivity, made it her mission to make as many Upper West Siders smile as possible, choosing community service as her smile generator. Usdin and her cousin, Sydney Shankman, a senior at Bronx High School of Science, started an organization in 2021 called \u201cWest Side Smiles\u201d (WSS) (not<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":301,"featured_media":10484,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[347,644,318,425],"tags":[],"coauthors":[429],"class_list":["post-10483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-features","category-news","category-spotlight"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-21-at-8.05.27-AM-e1729512363351.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/301"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10483"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10483\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10485,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10483\/revisions\/10485"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10483"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=10483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}