’Twas the eve before Hanukkah
And all through the shul
Not a person was present
In the office or school.
The halls were dark.
The playground was quiet.
Rabbi Julie was not to be found.
BUT enter the kitchen and
What do you see?
Six volunteers so busily
Preparing a meal for the
Food insecure.
It’s MESH night at Shomrei
You can be sure.
Category Archives: Social Action
Thank you, Shomrei, for Sharing Gifts with Family Promise
Today (Dec 16) was the day that Jordy Stone and Lauren Pack organized delivering all of the gifts from the Shomrei Shares program to the Family Promise Offices on South Fullerton Avenue in Montclair.
MESH Report December 10, 2024
Chef Joan Zief organized a hearty and tasty meal for our MESH guests with the able assistance of sous chefs/packers Lynne Kurzweil, Susan Rosenblatt, Risa Bernstein and Carole Rothman. Continue reading
MESH Report Nov 26, 2024 (Teen MESH)
We had an enthusiastic and dedicated Teen MESH crew cook a hearty meal this week. Collin set the tone for Teen MESH by spending his Sunday, baking cookies and bagging them for the dessert. Monday afternoon, Team Leader Jordan, brought five of her friends from Montclair High to prep and cook the dinner for 50 guests who would be served at the Office on Tuesday. The teens prepared 18 lbs of Fern’s Hot and Sweet meatballs, 10 lbs of white rice, and 10 lbs of fresh green bean salad mixed with halved cherry tomatoes and red onions.
Thank You for Your Donations for the Children’s Clothing Drive
26 large bags of donated children’s winter clothes are ready to go to the Human Needs Food Pantry and Montclair.
My gratitude to all those who donated clothes over the past weeks and to the Shomrei staff who assisted me in storing the bags of clothes and then loading them into my car.
Help a Refugee Help Themselves
Do you need an occasional babysitter? Someone to rake leaves or shovel snow? An extra set of hands to move boxes or furniture? A seamstress to alter clothing or create decorative pillows? Someone to help set up for, and clean up after, a dinner or party for family or friends?
All of those services (and more) can be provided by the people that Shomrei’s Refugee Assistance Group has been assisting in recent years. It can be a win-win situation for all involved: you get the services you need, and you do a mitzvah by providing crucial additional income to the refugee families. Continue reading
MESH Report Nov 11, 2024
Flexibility is key!
This week in our ongoing effort to engage wider participation by accommodating congregants’ availability, we had a tag team on Monday and Tuesday. Monday afternoon Lynne Kurzweil, Shirley Grill and Linda Wieseneck did the cooking and stored it for warming and packing up on Tuesday.
Leftovers for MESH
Thank you to Gail Stocks for her contribution of desserts left from shiva. Gail is truly a mensch to think of MESH during her time of mourning.
An additional thank you goes to the Nadel/ Lapidus family for saving some delicious main dish items for MESH.
Family Promise Grocery Support Over the Top!
Shomrei partnered with Family Promise to provide groceries for two families living in temporary housing. Not only were enough groceries collected for the two families, but there were enough groceries to stock the Family Promises food pantry. Also, twenty $25 Shop Rite gift cards were donated to provide families in food crises some emergency relief. And there were still enough dry goods to fill Shomrei’s Little Pantry.
It’s Getting Cold Out There!
The days are shorter, and the temperature is dropping. It’s that time of year to go through the kid’s clothes and see what winter clothing still fits.
From my experience raising three sons, it always gave me pleasure to know that, after my boys had moved up to the next size, there was someone to whom these clothes could be passed and who might benefit from them.
In our Shomrei Community of Giving, there is an easy way to pass along outgrown clothes.
. Continue reading