Hunger Initiative for Passover

PASSOVER is coming !!  Great Neck Synagogue Hunger Initiative will be reaching out once again to provide  Passover staples and Seder food for individuals and families in need.   Our initiative is scheduled to take place on Monday March 11, 2013 (two weeks before Pesach, to make it easier for our volunteers) in the coat room  lobby at the Shul.

DRIVERS are needed to assist us in deliveries ( as well as non-driver companions for each car), as well as packers on March 11. Packing will start at noon, and deliveries will be at 3:00 pm. Monetary contributions would be greatly appreciated. Please deliver checks to Shul, mark them Hunger Initiative Pesach, and make the check payable to Great Neck Synagogue.   May we all be blessed with the privilege to enjoy the Passover festival in freedom.

Please contact Cindy Hodkin at koshercookinggn@gmail.com

to volunteer, or call her @482-7771 from 9am to 9pm.

Hunger Initiative

THANK YOU FROM GREAT NECK SYNAGOGUE

HUNGER INITIATIVE PASS IT FORWARD

Pass it Forward would like to extend a gracious thank you to everyone who

enabled this tremendous chesed. This year we delivered over a thousand

meals to needy families in Long Island and Queens, including families

suggested to us by the Hatzilu Rescue organization which takes care of

needy families here in Great Neck. Each year as the need for our services

grow, the generosity of our community rises to meet that need. While we

would be overwhelmed if we acknowledged all donors, a few special thank

yous are in order .Each year the Lillien family graciously donates hundreds

of food containers and tea lights, so that our community members can make

pots of soup on the day of the initiative. A group of chesed activists in the

Bet Midrash (dubbed “the boys”) have increased their generosity every

year, and place a large food order with Everfresh to insure that every needy

family on our list will receive all the celebratory Yom Tov foods. Boys,

tikunah L’mitzvot. Everfresh, Mazurs & Great Neck Glatt are integral

participants in our program and allow us to make it easy for people to

donate delicious and healthy meals. This year, Brandon Gold was our high

school liaison and worked efficiently and effectively with the local restaurants

for donations. In these difficult times, we received generous donations

from: Cho-Sen, Great Neck Grill, Dougies, Chatenooga and Colbeh.

Please try to patronize our kosher establishments so that they can continue

to support our community in return. Brandon also got us a record number of

high school volunteers, we hope he can train next years liaison. A very

special thank you to our Committee members, Felecia Morris, Celia and

Jack Lemonik, Charlie Mandelbaum, Diane Rein and Margery Libin.

We may be small in numbers, but each of you is a powerhouse. A special

thanks to Janet Hakimian, her group of volunteers, Fery Sedeghatpour,

Marcel Arielle and other members of the Persian community who

volunteer their time and resources to fill the voids in our program. We could

not have run so smoothly without the expert help of Dario Taveras and his

staff who worked so hard to help us make the day happen. Finally, it really

takes a community to complete this project. Each year, after the last

package is delivered we recognize the miracles of the day. This year with a

dozen extra routes and so many more families to feed, we ended the day

with just enough of everything, food, drivers, volunteers, so thank you to all.

We especially wish to thank our cooks, packers and drivers, who spend

hours before the holidays helping us out. We wish you all a year of health,

happiness, parnassah tova and please keep us in mind for next year, our

Rosh HaShana Initiative will be on Labor day!

Cindy Hodkin and Nechama Liss-Levinson, co-chairs,

Drivers Wanted and Activity for Children for Pass It Forward

GNS PASS IT FORWARD program is looking for a DRIVER with a large car or VAN to deliver food bags to ONE stop on the South Shore on Thursday September 13th.  Leaving Great Neck Synagogue approximately 2:00 pm.  Food will be distributed to the indigent and the elderly, many of whom are Holocaust survivors.  Contact Cindy Hodkin at koshercookinggn@gmail.com

If you are looking for an activity to do with your children,or have older children who want to participate in this years initiative, or have a little time on your hands, we have pareve cake mixes and disposable tins available for you. Please bake and deliver to us on September 13. You can bake and deliver the baked goods frozen. Please mark the packages so we know the contents. Contact Cindy Hodkin for the cake mix and/ or tin at koshercookinggn@gmail.com Or 516482-7771 or 516317-9632

Pass It Forward

GNS ANNUAL ROSH HASHANA PASS IT FORWARD

FOOD INITIATIVE

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

BRING THE SWEETNESS OF ROSH HASHANA TO THOSE IN NEED!

Now in its 5th year, the PASS IT FORWARD program of the GNS Hunger Initiativeprovides food to families for Yom Tov.  Last year,volunteers packed and delivered over 1000 meals to needy individuals, families, kosher food pantries and North Shore Hospital BikurCholim.

HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP!

Donate Food: If you have a kosher kitchen (separate meat and dairy utensils and kosher certification on all processed foods), make extra food (soup, main, side or dessert) and pack it in containers serving 4-8  (no bags please!)  Deliver it to GNSCOAT ROOM LOBBY on Thursday September 13^th, between 12 and 2 pm.

Donate $$: Purchase a special meal for a $15 contribution from Mazurs, Great Neck Glatt or Everfresh, which will be delivered on your behalf.  Or make a donation directly to the GNS Hunger Initiative.

Donate Time: We need packers (from 11 am to 5 pm) and drivers for about 20 different routes, starting from 3:00 to 5:30 pm on Thursday September 13^th, starting at GNS Coat Lobby.

Donate Creativity:   Have your child create a special handmade Rosh HaShana card to be enclosed in the food delivery.

ALL VOLUNTEERS PLEASE EMAIL CINDY HODKIN: koshercookinggn@gmail.com

Do a Mitzvah….   Make Life Meaningful…. Rosh HaShana is coming….

Hunger Initiative

GNS HUNGER INITIATIVE

The GNS Hunger Initiative wishes to thank everyone for their generous donations over these past months. We were able to provide latkes, applesauce, grape juice, baked goods, chanukah gelt and dreidels for many needy families, with your help and the assistance of Hirshel          Minster. May the light of the Chanukah candles provide inspiration for us all.

Thanksgiving at the Senior Center

THANKSGIVING AT THE SENIOR CENTER

A huge bouquet of thanks to all those who contributed to making this year’s GNS Hunger Initiative Thanksgiving program for the seniors at Arrandale a resounding success. We were able to serve a hearty and delicious Turkey dinner from Mazurs to nearly 50 residents and their aides. Our intergenerational volunteers, who ranged in age from the single digits (aged 2) to their seventies, made cards, ladled food,served as waiters, staffed tables, and chatted with the seniors. Special thanks to our talented members who played musical instruments and sang. As one volunteer said, “These young people are so nice and respectful. They could have been doing other things today, but they wanted to be here!” To round out the joy of the day, leftovers were delivered to the local volunteers firefighters. May all those who  contributed their time and donations have the strength to continue to do their good works. Special thanks to the Sisterhood for their generous support.

Pass It Forward Thank You

Cindy Hodkin, Nechama Liss Levinson and Margery Libin, chairs of the Pass it Forward Committee would like to sincerely thank all of those who contributed to our resoundingly successful initiative this year, and the largest we have ever initiated.

We were able to feed 140 individual families and source the Bikur Cholim room at North Shore Hospital as well as 3 kosher food banks with Yom Tov meals.

Special kudos to our local merchants, Mazurs, Great Neck Glatt, Everfresh , Shop Delight and to Whole  Foods and Chantilly Bakery for their generosity. This year,  the Mashadi Jewish Community collaborated with us for the first time and contributed to almost every aspect of our project, bringing new meaning to “community” to our project . To our very small in number but huge in output committee which consists of: Felicia Morris and Celia and Jack Lemonik and Katie Lichter; each year as the need grows larger, their contributions escalate exponentially, we could not even begin to undertake this project without them.

And .. to the dozens of volunteers, from the preschool and kindergarteners who make beautiful new year cards, to all of the youth who help us pack our bags for delivery, to those who show up on D-Day and say “how can I help”, and do everything from logging in food, to cleaning up spills and picking up all of those  last minute  necessities and to the hundreds of people in our Shul and the Great Neck Community who generously donate meals, and challah and pomegranates, honey  and all of the food necessary to complete a holiday meal and to those who  cook, call and ask how they can help and ensure that those less fortunate have beautiful meals and fresh roses to adorn their holiday tables, thank you for your contributions!  And last, but not least to those who deliver for us, a very special thanks for going to the farthest reaches of long island after a long day of work, undertaking some very long routes this year, we could not do it without you.

May we continue to go from strength to strength and live to see the day where this project is no longer needed.

Thanksgiving for Seniors

This year for Thanksgiving

You can really give thanks and be giving!

Buy a Thanksgiving Dinner for a

resident at Arrandale Senior Housing

and make your parents proud of you.

$18 can sponsor a dinner

in honor of/in memory of your parents

Name:__________________________________________

Phone #_________________________________________                                                  Email:__________________________________________

Meals purchased in memory/ in honor of:______________

________________________________________________

Amount enclosed:______

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

We are also looking for a limited number of volunteers (ALL AGES) to help serve the dinner, clean up, play music, sing & talk to the residents

I would like to volunteer on Thursday, Nov 24^th, 11:30-2 pm

Food Server:_______________        Other Talent:____________________

Volunteer Names & Kids’ Ages:  _________________________________

Co-Sponsored by: GNS Hunger Initiative, Sisterhood & Women’s Tefila

For more info: call Nechama at 516-773-3572 or email lisslev@verizon.net

Please return to: GNS   26 Old Mill Road     Great Neck, NY 11023

Friday food drop offs

HUNGER INITIATIVE

Friday food drop offs have decreased while the need has increased.

Please be mindful of the less fortunate as you prepare for Shabbat, when you cook during the week and when planning your Simchas.

We are feeding many elderly persons and small families, so smaller  quantities are also appreciated. You can cook a little extra during the week, freeze it and drop off at 18 Birchwood Lane on Fridays before 12:45 pm.

Hunger Initiative Thank You

GNS HUNGER INITIATIVE SAYS “THANK YOU”

We offer gratitude to the Great Neck Synagogue community for its  ongoing participation in our year round efforts to feed the hungry.  We appreciate the generous donation of food following your simchas, your monetary donations in response to our appeals, and the  donation of food by our local establishments: Ever Fresh, Great Neck Glatt, Mazur’s and Shop Delight. We would like to acknowledge special appreciation to our tireless volunteers who make deliveries to those in need, literally through rain, sleet and snow all year long. Yashar Koach.

Leslie Bronheim, Gabriel Jansenson,*Stuart Kaufman, Mervin Klein, Renee Krieger,*Janet Lenchner,**Barry Libin, Howard Lorber,  Neal Mandelbaum, Milt Mitzner, Felicia Morris, Brenda Parver,  Sharyn Pearlman, Gabby Nissan, *Jackie Nissan, Rafi Nissan,  Jonathan Talit, Steven Zuckerman, Karen Zalta.

*Delivery Team Captains **Coordinator

Cindy Hodkin, Margery Libin and Nechama Liss-LevinsonCo-Chairs.

If you are interested in participating in this mitzvah please contact the GNS office.

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