What has more than 300 hands and took over Los Angeles last Sunday, February 28th? Our Federation’s Community Service Day volunteers! More than 150 people of all ages united in six locations to give back and touch lives right here in our own city.
In Granada Hills, families with young children from the Valley joined together for our Day of Good Deeds project at Aegis, an assisted living facility. There, children and their parents got a crash course on tikkun olam while painting flower pots, planting flowers and playing games with the seniors. It was a wonderful opportunity for three generations of our community to connect and learn from one another.
Our YALA volunteers (ages 25-40) brought joy and nourishment to the Westside. They bagged and distributed more than 200 sack lunches to homeless Angelenos in Culver City, Santa Monica and along Venice Beach. This project was completed in conjunction with our Federation’s partner, Beit T’Shuvah, an organization that helps individuals and families recover from addiction.
In celebration of Jewish Disabilities Awareness and Inclusion Month, volunteers participated in an inclusive Sensory-Friendly Family Day with our partners at Vista Del Mar. Members of our Jewish community worked with Danny’s Farm petting zoo, read books to attendees with PJ Library, ran an arts & crafts station, and assisted participants as they learned how to make sushi.
Downtown, it was an eye-opening experience at Skid Row for many of our volunteers as they prepped, cooked and served lunch to the homeless clients of Union Rescue Mission.
Similarly, volunteers at L.A.’s Ronald McDonald House prepared and served lunch to families with a different need. Ronald McDonald House provides furnished housing — at little or no cost — for parents and siblings of seriously ill children that are being treated at a hospital in Los Angeles. Being in close proximity to the hospital gives families peace of mind and, thanks to our volunteers, they returned from a morning at the hospital to a delicious lunch, plus leftovers, and no dishes to clean!
There were also lots of cuddles at Build-A-Bear at the Westside Pavilion with our second family-friendly service project. Responding to requests for more age-appropriate volunteer opportunities for kids, our Federation provided each child with a bear to stuff, clothe and box. The bears will be donated to the Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House during our next Community Service Day as part of care packages specially made for siblings of seriously ill children. We hope you’ll join us again next month to help us assemble these care packages with love!
Thanks to all of our volunteers for taking action on behalf of your Jewish values and showing our community how great it feels to participate in tikkun olam. We hope you’ll join us at our upcoming Community Service Days:
- Sunday, April 3, 2016
- Sunday, June 5, 2016
- Sunday, August 7, 2016
- Sunday, November 6, 2016
- Sunday, December 11, 2016
If you would like to learn more about our Community Service Day program, please contact Alana Schwartz.
