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Your Comments

You are an absolute sweetheart - the world needs more young people like you - an inspiration to us all.
Posted about 1 month ago by Kim B. from United Kingdom

Live life to the fullest!!
Posted 5 months ago by Carter, K from Long Beach, CA

A very inspiring piece of art.
Posted 5 months ago by Joanna H. from Monkey Land

I learned that maybe I should start to volunteer to help others. I am so selfish that maybe one day, I too, can grow up to be like Shifra. I am pretty sure that she is living her life quite proud that she was able to help all of those people that she did.
Posted 6 months ago by Lauren C from U.S.A

Your story made me want to cry. You are as beautiful as you are amazing. Your story inspires us all.
Posted 7 months ago by April S. from Chandler, AZ

Life is a song worth singing. So sing loudly.
Posted 9 months ago by Zaundra H from Meriden CT

Shifra, I really appreciate you because you are doing something that many of us can do but don't. Lets remember that this body is not meant to just "smear sandal paste" but it is for the service of fellow human beings.
Posted 10 months ago by Kirthishri M.V. from Bangalore, India

Awesome how she kept doing it even though she didn`t have to and for so long, even encouraging other students to take part.
Posted over 1 year ago by Jimmy U. from Brookings, Oregon

It is so neat to see a young woman helping others that don't have a home. Also providing them clothes and blanket to keep the family warm for the winter. This is also a very good example for those who are willing to help homeless around the world. Shifra is a very good example of how she saw a homeless shivering from cold in the winter and made a blanket sewed by hand.
Posted over 1 year ago by Lily L. from Missouri

You're an inspiration to many and it was a pleasure to meet you. You have done and will continue to do great things in life. Don't waste your talent.
Posted over 1 year ago by Matthew M. from Boston, MA

She does what my mom does!
Posted over 1 year ago by Elizabeth W. from Canada, ON

We have it somewhere in our soul (a genuine drive to reach out) but the pressures of life seem to be stunting it. We can only realize our worth when we break the cuffs and reach out. This is what this billboard is helping people do. The effect lingers in my soul.
Posted over 1 year ago by Chike-Iyo, F. from P.H. Nigeria

THIS IS ESSENCE OF LIFE. IT IS PATHWAY TO DISCOVERING YOUR REAL YOU AND WHAT YOU ARE CONFIGURED TO TO BE AND TO DO.
Posted over 1 year ago by HENRY from LAGOS, NIGERIA

I love the saying at the end, "Mends more than just clothes." I almost cried , so simple, such a good example though.
Posted almost 2 years ago by Madison. T from McMinnville, Or

Thank you for this story. Volunteering has always been something I wanted to do; I just never knew where to start. But now I guess I don't need to think about complicated things. And thank you for this sentence: "Volunteer work has taught me to appreciate my own talents and the gifts that I was given." Maybe this is what I've been searching for...
Posted almost 2 years ago by Dorothy H. from Hungary

It is very nice thing to think of others before yourself. When you do good things, good things will happen.
Posted over 2 years ago by Jessica H. from Saginaw, M

These are excellent! I would love to see one (or more) in Orlando, FL.
Posted over 2 years ago by Dana W. from Orlando, Florida USA

Wow Wow Wow! I am in awe. I now know more than ever what must do. Find way to better serve People and our Planet. Help people any way I can, A smile,a wave, a kind act of generosity. May I assist you?
Posted almost 3 years ago by Manny R from Catalina, Arizona USA

If nobody ever volunteered, nothing would be done with care and love.
Posted almost 3 years ago by Jean K. from Oregon, USA

Volunteering in our community is a very precious thing to do and this...this will make it happen.
Posted almost 3 years ago by Abby L. from Edison, New Jersey, USA

May you be blessed over-abundantly for the work you do for the homeless. I was one many years ago myself. And it doesn't hurt that you have the most genuine and warm smile I've ever seen on a human being.

Posted almost 3 years ago by Thomas M. from St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Interesting and impressive! Initiatives of Shifra take a her eternally forward. Motivations within a person can be so inspiring and so beautiful! Good example set by Shifra!!
Posted almost 3 years ago by Mahendra B. from Mumbai, India

to help the poor
Posted about 3 years ago by euniceomagu from Nigeral Enugu

story that inspired her to do this is worth a peek for all
Posted about 3 years ago by channy from Mumbai

I pass by your billboard everyday in Austin, Texas, and there are so many homeless here, I think that they appreciate you helping others like them, your generosity and goodwill will serve you well in life.
Posted over 3 years ago by Crystal N from Austin, Texas USA

Shows that we can do much more than give just money for the needy.
Posted over 3 years ago by chioma ike from Nigeria

Such a cute young girl...helping others around the world.
Posted over 3 years ago by Eunice R. from Evenston, WY

Volunteering

About This Billboard

Shifra Mincer (in her own words)
I was raised in New York City where I saw the homeless shivering from cold every winter. In sixth grade, a teacher offered to bring some students to a homeless shelter after school. I went with my friends and the teacher for several weeks, but when they stopped going together I continued to volunteer. Because I knew how to sew, I was asked to help out with the sewing kit if any guests requested some repairs. Throughout high school I continued to come each week after school, setting up my sewing kit that had now grown quite large. I got to know the guests who came regularly and I also got to know their clothes: the jackets, the shirts, the pants, and the shoes that were given to me with gaping holes and sagging seams.

In high school I started a sewing club with my friend and we taught our fellow students how to sew. We made heart-shaped pillows for sick children and the elderly. In college I continue to volunteer at our fully student run homeless shelter, UNILU.

Volunteer work has taught me to appreciate my own talents and the gifts that I was given. With my own hands as a young girl I had the power to repair someone's coat and keep him warm. Every time it rained I would think about the umbrellas I had sewn and suddenly I would appreciate that I was lucky enough to have a home. In the future I hope to continue helping others as much as I can. It is the most fulfilling and most important thing I have ever done.