by Ilana W. 

Wow is all I can say! After a whirlwind AIPAC policy conference with over 18,000 people from different backgrounds, cities, and ages, I am more invigorated than ever. I felt like I was in a microcosm of Jewish life; high schoolers interacting with Holocaust survivors, Rabbis and politicians conversing, and pretty much every person I knew from my days at camp.

To make my experience even more memorable, I volunteered with JScreen to help this incredible organization take advantage of this colossal Jewish gathering in order to put the topic of Jewish genetic screening on attendee’s radars. Policy conference offers a prime opportunity for educating the community since there is a diverse population pool for JScreen to reach.

It’s so exciting to be involved in helping people sign up for screening and knowing that I’m impacting their lives in a good way. I was excited to discover that mothers of kids in their 20’s and 30’s are really open to the idea of screening because they understand how crucial planning for a healthy future is and want their sons and daughters to get screened. And we all know Jewish mothers always know what’s best for their kids!

I’m really passionate about spreading the word about JScreen and instilling knowledge into my peers which will help their families later in life. We can all be ambassadors for this cause and getting involved in promoting JScreen is not only easy but essential.