Temple Har Shalom volunteers brought sunshine to Mitzvah Day
Every year, Temple Har Shalom congregants celebrate Mitzvah Day, which is a day set aside for community service, said Deb Sheldon, director of member relations at the Park City synagogue.
“We get together to participate in the tradition of Tikkun Olam,” Sheldon said. “We try to make the world a better place through small acts of kindness and social justice.”
This year, the synagogue marked Sunday, Aug. 26, as its Mitzvah Day, and nearly 120 members worked on nine different projects with various nonprofits, according to Sheldon.
Groups did some clean-up at Swaner EcoCenter, made blankets for children at the Summit County Children’s Justice Center, took donations for Utah Health and Human Rights — which promotes the health and well-being of of the international torture survivors — and did some work at the Nuzzles & Co. animal rescue ranch in Peoa.
We try to make the world a better place through small acts of kindness and social justice…” Deb Sheldon, Temple Har Shalom’s director of member relations.
“We also sent people down to Salt Lake to help with the Utah Food Bank,” Sheldon said. “We had some groups make hygiene kits for Jewish Family Service, and we hosted an American Red Cross blood drive at the temple.”
Other volunteers made some various items for breast cancer survivors that will be handed out at Image Reborn Foundation retreats.
Image Reborn Foundation is a nonprofit that provides no-cost healing retreats to women diagnosed with breast cancer, according to its mission statement.
“We also sent kids who are in grades seven through 10th graders join our director of education Michael Greenfield for the Peace House’s Walk a Mile In Her Shoes at the Park Silly Sunday Market,” Sheldon said. “And we did a grounds beautification project at Temple Har Shalom. It was a really great day.”
Sheldon credits Casey Lebwohl, Temple Har Shalom Mitzvah Day chair, for the each project’s success.
“She not only oversaw all the programs, she also led the group to the Swaner EcoCenter,” she said.
Sheldon said she appreciates Temple Har Shalom congregants for their enthusiasm and willingness to serve.
“Every year, we do different projects and we have different team leaders,” she said. “We want to do this because we are part of the community, and we want to help these organizations because they help us. I am so grateful to all of them for doing this.”
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