Mitzvah Day

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Mitzvah Day - Sunday, March 21, 2010

Mitzvah Day

Sunday, March 21, 2010

On Sunday, March 21, Temple Adat Shalom will host its annual Mitzvah Day, a congregation community service day created to encourage temple members to go into the community to make a difference in the lives of others. Over 200 volunteers of all ages will work in our San Diego community with loving hands and willing hearts to "repair the world" (tikkun olam) by participating in various charitable projects.

Click here for the Mitzvah Day brochure.

Click here to print Mitzvah Day registration form.

Click here to register and make secure payment online.

This year's projects will include:

1. No Sew Blankets: 12:15 - 3:30
(Ages 5+) Provide comfort to children at the Polinsky Center - a place for at-risk children - by making cozy blankets. No sewing required! We will be cutting and tying fringes from a colorful array of boys' and girls' designer fabrics. Please bring scissors that can cut through fabric!
Team Leader: Carol Shapiro 760-739-1444, Email:

2. Junior & Youth Choirs/Menschtones: 12:30 - 2:15
(Carpooling necessary)
(Choir members and their families) This year, the sound of music will be enjoyed by residents of Seacrest Village in Rancho Bernardo. Following their performance, choir members and their families will lead residents in a lively sing-along, followed by a fun session of bingo.
Team Leaders: Cantor Frank, Email:

and Doug Simon 760.480.6681, Email:

3. Bingo: 1:45 - 3:15
(Ages 6+) Join us for an entertaining afternoon with the residents of Seacrest Village in Rancho Bernardo. Play bingo, laugh and visit with a group of lively senior citizens. This would be a fun project to do after singing! Younger children should be accompanied by an adult.
Team Leader: Cindy Schwedock 858-513-1164, Email:

4. Blood Drive: 8:00 - 1:00
(Ages 18+) The San Diego Blood Bank will again be onsite to take our donations of blood (one pint per donor). Help patients recover with a generous gift of life-saving blood.
Team Leader: Rachel Glovinsky 858-603-8146 , Email:

5. Toiletry Bags: 12:15 - 3:30
(Ages 6+) Assemble much-needed toiletry bags for St. Clare's Home and ICS. Also, please help us fill our collection box located in the TAS courtyard with travel and regular-size toiletries.
Team Leader: Toni Martin 858.549.3671, Email:

6. Temple Beautification: 12:15 - 3:30
(Ages 12+) Experience the work of our hands becoming transformed into an act of prayer as together, we beautify and improve the grounds of our Community of Peace! We will be trimming foliage in and around the parking lots; weeding the Holocaust Garden and wherever else needed as well as picking up trash. Please bring a sunhat, sunscreen, work gloves, a small hand-held implement for weed removal (such as flat-head screwdriver), pruning shears/clippers and a willing heart and mind.
Team Leader: Keith Liker 858-451-2288, Email:

7. Gardening - Fraternity House: 12:15 - 3:30
(Ages 12+) (Carpooling necessary) The Fraternity House is a home for men who are disabled by HIV/AIDS. In the past, TAS members spent the day working and forming friendships with the residents. Please join us again this year to brighten their day. Projects include yard clean-up and gardening. Please bring gardening tools including rakes, shovels and gloves.
Team Leader: Allan Rozenberg Email:

8. Cut Veggies for Interfaith Community Services (ICS): 12:15 - 3:30
(Ages 12+) ICS serves over 300 meals a day. Join us in the TAS kitchen as we prepare vegetables that are needed to make soup for ICS. Bowls of home-made soup added to a meal will be quite a treat. Please bring your own knives, cutting boards and peelers.
Team Leader: Susan Knopman 858-484-0296, Email:

9. Dogs and Kids: 1:00 - 2:30
(Children must be accompanied by and adult)
Bring your friendly dog to the Remington Club, a senior residence. Last year's visit got "rave reviews," bringing lots of laughter and smiles. We can only bring eight (8) dogs so sign up quickly for this exciting Mitzvah project.
Team Leader: Laura Gallerstein 760-738-0112, Email:

10. Photo Team: 12:15 - 3:30
(Children must be accompanied by an adult)
Become a photojournalist for a day! A digital camera is required. Your assignment will be to capture the special moments from one or more Mitzvah Day projects to include in a slide show presentation as well as the photo gallery on the TAS website.
Team Leader: Richard Stegman 858-486-1144, Email:

11. Decorate Flower Pots and Plant Flowers: 12:15 - 3:30
(All ages; children must be accompanied by an adult.) Be creative while you paint and decorate flower pots and then plant flowers in them. The flower pots will be given to senior citizens at Seacrest Village and the Remington Club. Also, let us know if you would like to help hand them out the following weekend.
Team Leader: Leslee Simon 760-532-2079, Email:

12. Poway Parks: 12:30 - 3:30
(Ages 7+ ) (Children must be accompanied by an adult.) Join us for this family-friendly outdoor project that directly benefits the Poway community. Poway needs our help to improve access to a little-known fishing pond located just off Old Pomerado Road. There is a lot to do: in addition to clearing brush from the trail that surrounds the pond, children can help smooth out the beach area, and anyone who's interested can try his/her hand at fence-mending (let me know if this interests you). Please wear old clothes. Bring hats, sunscreen, and garden gloves if you have them. Pruning tools and dumpster will be provided.
Team Leader: Marlene Garstang 858.673.5600, Email:

NEW: Mitzvah Day Drives

Unused Cell Phones:
Help us raise money for Mosad Shalom while protecting the environment. We are collecting unused cell phones that will be sold and recycled. Please bring your unused cell phones and drop them in the Recycle Box located in the TAS office. We encourage you to delete all personal information. If have trouble deleting your information, leave a note (such as a post-it) on your cell phone and we will do it for you.
Questions? Contact: Rayna Colton 619-889-5099, Email:

Toiletries to Benefit ICS and St. Clare's:
Help us collect men's and women's toiletries to insert into toiletry bags on Mitzvah Day. Items needed include soaps, shampoo, conditioner, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, razors and shaving cream, small sewing kits, new cosmetic items, etc. We welcome hotel toiletries, but expect there to be fewer this year, so please consider donating $5 worth of items from the drug store. A collection box will be in TAS courtyard.
Questions? Contact: Toni Martin 858-549-3671, Email:

Diapers and Laundry Detergent:
We all love clean clothes and clean tushes! So this Mitzvah Day, why not help some people who need washing detergent and diapers! Jewish Family Services' Hands Up Food Pantry is asking for diapers (all sizes, but Sizes 3 or 4 are needed most urgently) and various kinds of washing detergent, in both large and small sizes. Please make someone's day a little cleaner by donating diapers and detergent! A collection box will be in TAS courtyard.
Questions? Contact: Nathan Glovinsky 858-603-8147, Email:

Support Our Sailors:
Help Temple Adat Shalom provide a small library of Jewish books to one or more U.S. Navy ships ported in San Diego. An average ship has about thirteen Jews on board and the local chaplains would like to be able to provide them with Jewish books for their time at sea. With your help, we can adopt a few ships and provide them with some basic books. Examples of the titles the chaplains are requesting are: Tanakh, Daily Siddur, To Be a Jew, To Pray as a Jew, Maimonides Principle: Fundamentals of Jewish Faith, The Jewish Book of Why, Exodus, The Chosen. Monetary donations towards this goal will be used to buy a set of ten to fifteen books for as many ships as we can. A collection box for books and monetary donations will be in the TAS office.
Questions? Contact: Doug Lange, Email:

For further information you can contact Mitzvah Day Chair:

Rayna Colton: 619-889-5099 - Email: