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Past Chairs
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On
Sunday, April 2, 2006, our congregation’s families will have the
opportunity to participate in over 40 community-wide projects. As
always, we will have a wonderful array of projects at the Julia
Bindeman Center and the newly renovated Temple. Among other things,
we will make sandwiches and toiletry kits for the homeless, sort
clothes for over 60 recipient agencies in the metro area, fill
backpacks and refurbish bikes for children who would not otherwise
have them, make pink ribbons for breast cancer awareness and Happy
Hats for children undergoing cancer treatment, and fill festive
birthday bags and Pesach packages to allow others to celebrate these
special days.
We
will also reach out in the metro community to brighten and improve the
lives of others on this day. We will travel by bus (or car if you
prefer) to D.C. Village – the only D.C. facility to provide shelter to
mothers, fathers and children under one roof. In the morning, we will
visit and work hand in hand with D.C. Village families to make
beautiful, warm fleece blankets, help raise a shed on site to help
house bikes being refurbished at JBSC, and share light refreshments.
In the afternoon, we will share an afternoon of bowling, lunch and fun
with some of these families. We hope that you will consider
participating in this, or one of the other wonderful community-based
projects on this day. Please review the registration form for a
complete description of the all the projects.
We want to take this opportunity to thank
you, in advance, for your generosity in donating items and goods for
those in need. Please check our website for updates on projects and
items that are needed. Our WHC community truly embodies the spirit of
a generous heart.
~ Faye Levin and Jean Schlesinger |
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We want to welcome our
congregational families to Mitzvah Day, 2005. This year will
once again provide our community with the opportunity to
participate in over 40 community wide projects. There is
something for everyone this year! As always, we will be
assembling sandwiches for the hungry, filling backpacks for
students with much needed school supplies, and sorting the
amazing amount of donations we get for recipient agencies
all through the metro area. Some new projects for this year
include creating celebration baskets for families in need
with all the goodies for a birthday celebration, putting
together Pesach packages with hand decorated Seder plates
and Passover treats for Jewish Social Services, and creating
a memorable baby shower for young single moms to be at St.
Annes. Please look over our registration carefully. We have
lots of projects for everyone! We want to take this
opportunity to thank you all for your amazing generosity in
donating items and goods for those in need. Keep checking
our website for updates on projects and items that are
needed. Our WHC community truly embodies the spirit of a
generous heart.
~ Janie
Lipnick and Amy Plevin |
| As chairs of Mitzvah Day
’96, we look back and feel intense pride and satisfaction.
There has never been a project for us that has been as
meaningful and fulfilling as Mitzvah Day! To involve so many
of our temple "family" in both the planning stages and "the
day of" has truly been a rewarding experience that we shall
never forget and probably never equal!!!
~ Judy Protas and
Linda Recht |
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The commitment,
enthusiasm, and joy of WHC families and individuals
young and old, working together for a common good is
just absolutely contagious! I hope everyone will "CATCH
IT"! I feel that Mitzvah Day 2000 will be the biggest
and best ever. Hopefully, these worthwhile projects will
continue throughout the year.
~ Betsy
Grossman |
| Mitzvah Day offers Washington
Hebrew Congregation and its members an opportunity
to share in the joy of doing good deeds for the
larger community. In addition to creating this
wonderful event for our membership, the temple has
taken a role on a national level in training other
congregations in developing their own Mitzvah Day.
From helping the elderly and less fortunate to
assisting the sick and disabled children, over 1000
of our congregants help the Washington, D.C.
community every year. We have a lot to be proud of!
~ Diane Charness
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My "calling" to
Mitzvah Day was in the first year. Rabbi Lustig
stopped me in the hall with one of his famous
finger-pointings and said, "Oh, yes, I want Elly
(my daughter, not then of driving age) to be a
team leader for Mitzvah Day. And of course, you
too." I laughed, she and I said yes, and began
our career at the peanut butter and jelly
tables. Afterwards, we talked about how hard the
volunteers had worked to meet our goal and how
all of us felt the reward of making a difference
to hungry children and adults. The next year,
Elly and I started working on the planning
committee, and I repeated as pb&j team leader,
while Elly moved on to another project.
I stayed on the
planning committee from the beginning. All the
pluses that we recognize so clearly now were
possibilities then. Meeting wonderful people
committed to helping others and expanding
Temple's efforts to give a helping hand. And
being part of what Mitzvah Day is--making a
difference. I will never forget calling agency
directors and hearing them say, "I'm so glad you
called. We know of all the work your Temple is
doing, and we hoped you would call us." For all
the people we affect on Mitzvah Day, I think we
affect ourselves more.
~
Joan Greenbaum |
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