At Mitzvah Day, members come together to pack hope and build community
As over 140 volunteers assembled packages, longtime Tikkun Olam volunteer Eileen Melniker could not remember how many Mitzvah Days she has participated in during her 35 years of membership. Instead, she focused on the bustle around her. The religious school students zipping through the package assembly stations. The families with young children taking in Mitzvah Day for the first time. Providing guidance to volunteers. Reflecting on what the day meant to her.
“Whatever the temple needs, I am here to help,” Melniker said. “[Participating in Mitzvah Day] shows how blessed I am. When people think I do it for them, yes I do. I could tell you, it’s not 50-50. I get 51. I get more out of it, by doing it and knowing how lucky I am to be able to do it and to be part of the temple for so many years that affords us the luxury to have all these things given for other people. It’s a blessing.”
Across Wise Hall, Dana Covey oversaw a flurry of activity. When the day began, the tables at her station were filled with hats, gloves, and scarves. An hour later, it had all been packed up, ready to be delivered to New Yorkers in need. Covey, a longtime Mitzvah Day volunteer, never envisioned becoming a regular participant in Temple Emanu-El’s Tikkun Olam programming. She came to Temple Emanu-El for religious school for her son. While waiting for her son, she was recruited to help pack Mishloach Manot for soldiers. Ever since she made that first Mishloach Manot package, her involvement in Temple Emanu-El’s Tikkun Olam programs has become a cornerstone of her Temple Emanu-El experience. She has volunteered at many Mitzvah Days and has been involved with Project Prom for 12 years.
“I love being able to do something here that has an impact,” Covey said.
Temple members of all ages — toddlers with their parents, religious school students, and adults — contributed to Mitzvah Day. They created care packages for organizations such as Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Mount Sinai Pediatric Departments, Hour Children, DOROT, The Urban Outreach Center, The Bowery Mission, Temple Emanu-El’s Project Prom, Part of the Solution, Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter, and New York Center for Children.
As Melniker, Covey, and the other Mitzvah Day volunteers packed up their stations, the screech of packing tape pierced the air. Volunteers and staff prepped packages for their journeys to every corner of New York City.
A few days later, the packages began arriving across New York City. They immediately began changing lives. “These donations could not have come at a better time,” said Monique Phillips, program director for Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter. “The essential kits are really great and will be so helpful and useful to the families at New York Center for Children,” said Christine Crowther, executive director of New York Center for Children.
To learn more about Mitzvah Day, watch this report from PIX11 News.
As prom season approaches, the excitement among high school students is palpable. Yet, for some, the anticipation is clouded by worries about the costs associated with this milestone event. Temple Emanu-El’s Project Prom empowers hundreds of high school seniors in New York City, offering them a boutique-style shopping experience where they can receive free prom ensembles.