Congregation comes together for day of service

“It represents nature, recycling, the Tree of Life, and the great thing is that I teach one person, who then teaches another, so now it’s the students leading the way,” Ms. Apple-Presser explained last Sunday.

This was happening all around the room – adults were training students, who in turn, took charge of their stations and helped others. In a nearby station, Solon Middle School student Jake Gehrt was teaching others how to assemble lunch packages for families staying at the Ronald McDonald House of Cleveland. At another, Brush High School student Izzy Lashley was helping children, parents and grandparents sew rice bags for heart transplant patients.

It was exactly what event Chairwoman Tracy Gehrt of Solon was hoping the temple’s first Sharefest would be like. The Sunday event, organized by the temple’s Tikkun Olam (Social Action) Committee, was an intergenerational day of service that benefited seven local organizations.

“With my children, it was always difficult to find volunteer opportunities for kids 13 and under. It was always like, you need to be 13, so I was always looking to organize something for kids of all ages to participate and volunteer without just donating money because I really think they get more out of it if they’re actually hands-on doing something,” Ms. Gehrt explained.

Ms. Gehrt continued that she and the committee started by brainstorming about things they could make that would be easy for everyone, regardless of age. They thought of to-go lunch bags, care packages and cut-and-tie fleece blankets, and then started reaching out to local organizations to see if they could use the products.

She found that Recovery Resources, a nonprofit dedicated to helping individuals and families dealing with addiction and mental health issues, could use holiday bags filled with hats, mittens and toiletries for their clients. Community West Foundation, a philanthropic organization that supports organizations dedicated to helping Cuyahoga County’s homeless community, could use the fleece blankets; and Bellefaire JCB, a child service agency, would like to have easy-to-make soup mixes for their children.

Other causes were a little closer to home.

At one station, temple Trustee Marilyn Zaas of Solon was registering congregants to join a bone marrow registry in honor of a temple member who is looking for a donor. Ms. Zaas said that she has been a registered bone marrow donor since her friend needed a transplant.

In the kitchen, people of all ages were baking cookies and brownies for Orange first responders.

“They’ve done a great job with helping out, especially with recent events with our synagogue. They’ve taken care of us really well,” Ms. Gehrt said. She continued that on Monday night, the seventh and eighth-graders would be creating a giant thank-you card for the Orange first responders.

The event also looked toward future service opportunities, displaying a large white board where people could sign up for volunteer opportunities in the new year at organizations like Cleveland Chesed Center and New Life at Calvary.

“This is great. It’s what we were hoping for,” said Rabbi Steven Denker. “This is our first Sharefest and at this holiday season, for Jews with Hanukkah and for Christians at Christmas, we’re so pleased to offer this opportunity to our congregation – parents, grandparents and students – to help our community.”