By Anne Marie Allocca
Amid the hustle and bustle of last-minute holiday shopping and with the planning of get-togethers with family and friends on our minds, sometimes we forget about the less fortunate. But thanks to the members of the Jewish Community Center of West Hempstead, plenty of folks were remembered this holiday season. The JCC held its annual Mitzvah Moments last month at its temple on Dogwood Avenue.
For the past three years the JCC members have banded together for an all-day event called "Mitzvah Mania" to help those in need. In recent years, as many as 50 activities were tackled in that one day. This year, co-chairs Rosalyn Ebrahimoff and Dorothy Dorman streamlined the event to five activities, with plans to hold more Mitzvah Moments throughout the year.
As members entered the synagogue, they viewed the list of activities. The Wachtel room was filled with the aroma of food. Like a well-oiled machine, the assembly line of Boy Scout Troop 613, a Sabbath-observing troop from Bayside Queens, and other volunteers slathered bread with peanut butter and jelly, then packaged the sandwiches and boxed them.
The Key Food on Dogwood Avenue donated bread and peanut butter, with members of the JCC contributing as well. Joe Dugan, who heads the Peanut Butter gang, directed the JCC where to send the finished product. The main recipient was The Interfaith Nutritional Network in Hempstead, which organizes donations to local shelters and soup kitchens.
In the office, JCC treasurer Nancy Costo helped people e-mail American and Israeli soldiers. "We're sending live on a Web site," she said. "Anyservicemember.org is a Web site where you can write to soldiers. You can send to an Army, Navy, Marine or Air Force soldier. We're also writing personal notes to Israeli soldiers as well on a different Web site."
The Moseson Chapel was bustling, as boxes of toiletries were being sorted. Lauren Horowitz, a quilter, brought her special tools to cut up all the washcloths that were put in wash-up kits. The West Hempstead Pharmacy donated boxes of travel-sized soap and assorted shampoos and conditioners. Pathmark, on Franklin Avenue in Franklin Square, and National Liquidators of West Hempstead gave money so the JCC could purchase items as needed. The kits were also distributed to local shelters under Joe Dugan's direction. Explained co-chair Rosalyn Ebrahimoff, "Joe has helped us in the past by being the inspiration and source of information on what to do and how to do it. Our goal is just to help people. We wanted to make it more universal today."
Children were also benefiting from the generosity of JCC members who donated toys and crafts. A member of the community sent information on the Winthrop Hospital Child Life Center, a place geared to care for children of all ages. "These toys are intended as activities for children during their stay in the hospital," said Ebrahimoff. "We asked people to bring a lot of bubbles, because I was told that anything that increases their respiratory output is good. Not every child is very sick -- some children have tonsilitis, so the crafts are great for them, too."
David Weiss, vice president of the JCC, watched as another group of members readied for their trip to the Franklin General Hospital's Geriatric Division with latkes (potato pancakes) in hand as well as an assortment of musical instruments. Cantor Todd Rosner sang while accompanied by Dave Kopstein on trumpet, Shelly Horowitz on clarinet and Jack Kruger on piano. Irv Sultan emceed the musical portion of the show. Sultan, who was a one-man vaudeville act, gave token gifts to the residents. "Visiting is always appreciated this time of year," Weiss recounted. "They serve the latkes and sing and play piano. And they usually have great stories to tell of their day."
The day ended with a Hanukkah party for the members and volunteers. Dorothy Dorman, co-chair of the Mitzvah Moments, explained why she participates in this special event. "I get a feeling of goodness because I'm helping people who can't help themselves," she said. "I have a wonderful husband and I have everything I need, so people who don't have as much as me can get something. That's what makes me feel good."
