Hillel Day School Pitches in to Feed the Hungry – This spring, as they have for the past six years, Hillel Day School eighth graders traveled to Israel as a culmination of all they have studied and explored during their years at the Jewish Day School in Farmington Hills. While the itinerary was jam-packed with sightseeing, celebration and reflection, the group took time to harvest crops in support of Leket Israel, Israel’s National Food Bank.
“We greatly appreciate their participation, hard work and enthusiasm. Together they managed to pick an amazing 3,500 pounds of potatoes, helping to feed well over 500 families that week,” said Deena Feidler, Leket PR and Marketing Director.
As the National Food Bank and leading food rescue network, Leket actively works to alleviate nutritional insecurity through its many food rescue and redistribution projects. The organization provides food and nutritional support to over 60,000 people daily with an annual distribution of 21 million pounds of produce and perishable goods. “Thanks to our impressive volunteer network and groups like the Hillel youth, each year we are able to provide 700,000 hot meals and 1.5 million sandwiches for underprivileged school children,” adds Caryn Siton, Leket Project PR Manager.
Leket Israel relies solely on the support of donors; the Hillel Day School Class of 2012 gave tzedakah (a charitable donation) collected from the entire school community, in addition to the time spent in the fields. The school’s donation enables Leket to help provide food to thousands of Israelis in need. “We attacked the field with so much energy and drive; each of us, students and staff alike, felt like we were doing God’s work. Our students have truly internalized the value of tzedakah, doing acts of economic justice to make the world more like it ought to be.” said Rabbi Jonathan Berger, Hillel’s Rabbi-in-Residence.
Any group or individuals traveling to Israel who would like to support Leket should contact Elena Rosenbaum 201-331-0070 or elena@leket.us. This is a wonderful opportunity for a Bar or Bat Mitzvah or anyone who wants to be part of a Tikkun Olam project.
ABOUT HILLEL DAY SCHOOL
Hillel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit is an independent early childhood through 8th grade Community Jewish Day School located in Farmington Hills. Hillel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit is accredited by ISACS (Independent School Association of Central States) and a member of the community day school organization, RAVSAK, NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) and ISM (Independent School Management). For more than 50 years, Hillel has provided a dual curriculum of highly competitive general studies academics along with Hebrew and Judaic studies.
For more information on Hillel Day School, visit http://www.hillelday.org/.
