On Sunday, August 10th, The Jewish Federation Valley Alliance Women’s Department got down in the dirt for a multi-generational Day of Good Deeds at the Lutheran Social Services Community Garden in Van Nuys. We were joined by more than 20 families (and over 65 family members) with children ranging in age from 9 months to 15 years.
Our volunteers participated in a meaningful social action project that will provide food for families in our community, while teaching their children important lessons about tzedakah and giving back. The project was held in collaboration with PJ Library® and Netiya, a Federation partner that utilizes gardening to mitigate hunger in Los Angeles while promoting a sustainable and resilient food system.
Armed with shovels, gloves and other gardening tools that were ultimately donated to Lutheran Social Services Community Garden, our volunteers worked the soil while Netiya’s Founding Executive Director Devorah Brous explained the significance of their specific efforts and raised participants’ drought consciousness. Did you know that weeds rob water from food-bearing plants, while mulch sustains hydration and moisture?
Parents with young children often don’t have time to leave home for regular volunteering, but relish opportunities to volunteer as a family, especially if they can model Jewish values and impart lessons of tikkun olam, repairing the world, to their kids. Our Day of Good Deeds projects were created to fill this void and involve more young families in the work of our Federation.
“I feel fortunate to be a part of this collaboration with the Valley Alliance Women’s Department. The work we are doing is extremely meaningful to me and my family,” said Gariann Weisenberg, who came with her husband, Larry, and their two children.
“It was a great morning spent with family and friends getting back to our ‘roots’ and doing mitzvot for others,” added Kimberly Schwarz, who attended with her husband, Stephen, and their four children. “My six-year-old son, Ezra, asked ‘When can we work in that garden again?’”
In addition to working the garden, other age-appropriate activities for the families with children included writing cards to Lone Soldiers serving in the Israel Defense Forces and preparing Sunshine Club Shabbat Gift Packages for seniors living in assisted living facilities in the Conejo Valley.
The next Valley Alliance Day of Good Deeds, with even more family-friendly community service projects, will be Sunday, December 7th. Contact Gisele-Goldwater Feldman for more information at (818) 668-2331 or GGoldwaterFeldman@JewishLA.org
