Making a Difference in the World

Rachel Taube is a young Millburn-Short Hills resident bent on making a difference in the world. Taube, an 18-year-old senior at Millburn High School went to Fiji with a program called Global Works to do a mixture of volunteer work and cultural immersion. She lived in and aided two different towns in Fiji. In the first village, she helped to build a one-room kindergarten classroom with the help of the village men. In order to get supplies, she collected rocks from the river for cement and wove the walls out of bamboo she and her peers flattened with a rock, in addition to teaching a lesson in the town school. In the second village, Taube and her peers dug and built a toilet block and re-tiled the community center. Taube explained that one of the most rewarding aspects of the trip was that "It was cool working with the people we were helping - it took a week to finish the project instead of the month or so it would have taken without our financial and manual help. It was also cool how all the village kids hung around while we were working and were so excited to hang out with us. This trip was unique because I got to see something so different from my life here." One of the benefits of buying a home in Millburn or Short Hills is that new home owners will be exposed to a community enthusiastic about bettering their world. Part of why Short Hills and Millburn real estate is so popular, is because the members of the community like Rachel Taube are so hard working, sincere, and determined to make a difference. Taube will be attending the University of Pennsylvania in the fall and will undoubtedly continue with her efforts to make a positive impact on the world.

Shannon Aronson top Keller-Williams Realtor Short Hills, Millburn, Summit New Jersey.