Kids in Action

SPECIAL THANKS TO Yad Ezra for this month’s activities and their important work in helping address food insecurity in our community.

Apple Tree

Fun & Learning for Kids

Apple Tree December 30, 2021, Issue 7

2 Kids in Action 3 Helping Out at

Yad Ezra

4-5 Working Together 6 Make a Tzedakah

Box

7 Get Ready ... Draw! 8 More Ways to Help

On the Cover: Sunny Shanker and her grandma, Myrna Shanker Apple Tree is compiled and edited by Karen Schwartz.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Kids in Action

It’s a great time of year for giving to other people. Think of all the nice Chanukah gifts you’ve received, and the fun you’ve had celebrating. Wouldn’t it be great to share some of that love with other people, too?

Families just like yours spend time, energy and money to make other people’s lives happier. Even the smallest act of kindness is meaningful. We use the word chesed in Judaism to talk about these kind acts and tzedakah to talk about donating money to people in need.

Bonus phrase: hakrat hatov. It’s Hebrew for “recognizing the good,” which encourages us to practice gratitude.

Sunny Shanker, 10, mentors other kids at school, volunteers with kosher food pantry Yad Ezra and donates to March of Dimes. During the pandemic, she made bracelets and finger puppets for first responders.

Last month, she spent a Sunday with her grandma, Myrna Shanker, packing food at Temple Israel for Yad Ezra’s clients. Her family values being thoughtful and generous to others, her mom, Wendy, explains. Sunny says she sees it as a way to help the world. “It felt pretty good to volunteer,” she says. “It is really fun, and it helps people that need help.”

Did You Know?

Yad Ezra is a food pantry that has been providing supplemental food to families since it opened in 1990.

In Michigan today, one out of every 8 people faces hunger.

Yad Ezra distributes food to 1,200 households a month, which is about 2,700 people.

Those foods include chicken, beef, turkey, fish, fruits and vegetables, grains and beans, rice, pasta, soup, milk, eggs, butter, oatmeal, cereal, bread and more.

Yad Ezra distributes 1 million pounds of food a year, equal to some 830,000 meals.