Ma Hadash Blog from CSH

Our Shir Hadash 2024 Mitzvah Day on January 14 was a huge success thanks to the 125 volunteers who put their energies together to make a difference in our community.

THANK YOU to our volunteers! And a huge thank-you to lead event organizer Michelle Wolf-Bloom, and project leads Davida Rosenbaum and Christy Altman, who made Mitzvah Day and these great projects possible.

By the Numbers:

• 300 Hygiene Kits made for Sacred Heart
• 300+ Feminine Hygiene Kits made for Sacred Heart
• 30 Welcome Baby Kits made for Sacred Heart
• 399 Sandwich Kits made for Loaves & Fishes
• 20 Get Well Soon Bags were made and delivered with soup, baked goods, and cards for housebound congregants
• Literal Tons of dirt/material were moved by the hard-working volunteers at Vasona Park as they successfully dug a pathway for native grasses.
• 10 bags of donated infant clothes were sorted on behalf of Loved Twice.

Above, Loaves & Fishes Sandwich Project: How many hard-working hands does it take to create 399 peanut butter & jelly sandwiches? This many! These healthy sandwiches will feed hundreds of people in need of a filling meal in our community.

Above: Caring, Cooking, & Creating Project: Together we chopped, sliced, simmered, and baked with love 20 Get-Well-Soon packages which will help homebound congregants to feel cared for and provide warm and nutritious meals filled with tasty ingredients and love.

Above: Park Beautification Project: A special message directly from the Park Rangers at Vasona Park: A special thanks is owed to everyone who came out to assist with this project. The volunteer group from Shir Hadash was very positive and motivated. Working together, the group was able to move literal tons of dirt and rocks to facilitate building a walkway for the UC Climate Steward Program native plant/pollinator garden project at Vasona YSI.

Thank you Vasona maintenance, operations, volunteer, and YSI staff who facilitated behind the scenes. The volunteer group was able to complete excavating and help install landscaping stakes and borders in just a couple of short hours. They may still be sore from that hard work! This is great progress and everyone's enthusiasm is instrumental in pushing this project forward.

Above, Feminine Hygiene & Welcome Baby Kits: Dozens of babies in our community will now have extra supplies and support, and hundreds of women facing hygiene-access issues will be able to receive critical supplies, providing a sense of dignity and freedom to those who would have to go without such needed supplies.

Above, Loved Twice Baby Clothes Project, Hygiene Kits for Unhoused Project, and Caring Caravan Deliveries Project: Access to these needed baby clothes, hygiene supplies, and deliveries of food and baked goods for the homebound all makes a difference for those in our community. The infant clothes sorted on behalf of Loved Twice will be delivered to Ravenswood Family Health Center next week where they serve a large community in East Palo Alto. See you next year at Mitzvah Day 2025!