Park Avenue Synagogue Hosts Good Deeds Fair
By Yehuda Bayme
Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City recently hosted the “Vicki K. Wimpfheimer Mitzvah Day,” an event focused on giving back to society. “Mitzvah” is a Hebrew word which means “commandment,” but it is most well known to mean “a good deed.” At the gathering, different tables were set-up to provide opportunities for children and adults to get involved and make positive impacts on society at large.
One of the highlights of the program was a haircutting station for donations to Pantene Beautiful Lengths, a development instituted by the hair care products company that makes wigs for patients undergoing cancer treatments. Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation was there to take cheek swabs to find donors of bone marrow and stem cells for people with leukemia and blood cancer. Another table helped Coalition for the Homeless, a service provider for the needy in New York City, as members of this congregation prepared hundreds of bag lunches for the organization.
Other activities included making toiletry packages for the New York Common Pantry, gift bags for babies of Women in Need, emergency preparedness kits for the United Jewish Council of the East Side, Rainbow Loom Friendship Bracelets for Met Council on Jewish Poverty, care packages for Jewish soldiers in the United States armed forces, and craft kits for children in hospice for Project Sunshine, a non-profit organization that helps medically challenged children with free services. A blood drive was also present.
This Manhattan congregation is demonstrating that giving feels good. Any type of giving, whether it means making a friendship bracelet, giving a pint of blood, or even the wonderful gesture of a hair donation, is good for the soul and good to society. These opportunities are readily available to the public and more help is always needed. Most importantly, the event made an impact on the students who were involved in the program. About 20 to 30 high school students prepared packages for the needy. The students were inspired by what they were doing. It was truly an uplifting event and really brought out the giving spirit of this season. #
