(Courtesy of SAR HS) Given the events in Israel over the past weeks, SAR High School students have been connecting to Israel through action, including creating packages for Israeli children who are often sequestered in bomb shelters. The idea came about when Merav Zuriel, director of the Hebrew department, shared the need for activities that would keep children in the shelters occupied during an attack.
“Every time I talked to my family in Ashkelon, I heard the enormous difficulty of my sisters-in-law who stayed at home with children while their husbands were in the army,” said Zuriel. “With school closed during this difficult time and children at home without the possibility of going to the playground because of the need to be close to the safe rooms, there were limited activities for them to take part in. I presented the situation to the students, and they were happy to create safe-room kits featuring activities, games and sweet treats for the children in Ashkelon. They wrote personal letters and left their email addresses where they could be reached for contact. Their goal was to improve the children’s moods, diversify their daily routines, and perhaps allow the mothers a few minutes of peace and quiet.”
The project was so engaging to students that, as part of the school’s Junior Getaway Shabbaton, 11th graders stopped off at Walmart to purchase items for the packages being sent to Israeli children.
Zehava Seidman-Wernick, chesed director, told students about the importance of making sure that kids could keep busy in their shelters in Ashkelon and Ashdod since they only have a few seconds to run when the alarms sound.
“She said we should buy things like coloring books and Play-Doh so kids can entertain themselves in shelters and give their parents a break,” said junior Tali Z., who was grateful for the opportunity to help. “We walked through the aisles and found cute toys as well as arts and crafts projects to send them.”
The Walmart management team was so touched by this act of kindness that they donated to the cause as well. Their gift of $200 allowed the students to purchase more items for their packages.
“It was so inspiring to see students who had already completed the chesed project wanting to do more,” Seidman-Wernick said. “The girls who went back to shop were very meticulous and made sure they were buying meaningful things that the kids would really like. They also wanted to buy as many items as they could so they could give to as many children as possible.”
Rabbi Jonathan Kroll personally brought the packages to Israel in the hopes that they will make a little bit of difference in the lives of parents and children enduring these difficult times.
