Helping the homeless are, from left, back row: Wendy Murad, Jack Sulzinsky, Brooke Murad, Justin Landzberg, Nicole Meyer, Cole Butchen, Adam Davidovich, Georgia Rich, Dawn Roberts, Debbie Landzberg, and Wendy Meyer; middle row: Ben Sulzinsky, Karen Sulzinsky, Sam Sulzinsky, Valerie Rich, Kate Alvarez, Joan Benowitz, and Emelie Howard; front row: Lawrence Taylor and Malcolm Bonds.
After a congregation-wide effort, the members of Temple Shearith Israel’s Social Action Committee recently provided more than 75 homeless adults with a hot breakfast, warm winter clothing and personal sundries.
Dozens of teen and adult volunteers spent weeks preparing for the annual Breakfast Run.
Religious school students collected new undergarments and toiletries for donation. Younger children decorated lunch bags and wrote notes of encouragement for the homeless. Various hats, gloves, socks, and thermals were packed for easy distribution, and more than 75 breakfast sandwiches were prepared. Local businesses, including Dunkin Donuts in Ridgefield and Cross River donated items.
The day began at 6 a.m. for the volunteers, who met to assemble, sort and prepare. Cars were packed with bags, boxes of clothing, back packs, food and tables, and the caravan was on 11th Avenue and 33rd Street by 8:30 a.m., where Midnight Run volunteers Malcolm, LT, and Ernie directed the set up.
Midnight Run vice president Malcolm told the volunteers, “We hope you will come back soon! Everyone really appreciates you, your positive smiles and encouragement. They’re still here even though they usually grab their stuff and head out. Everyone feels welcome.”
Malcolm, a volunteer for the organization, was homeless himself only a short time ago.
“The people we served really appreciated our efforts,” said Debbie Landzberg, chairman of the temple’s Social Action Committee and coordinator of the event. “Jewish law commands that we do ‘tikkun olam’ — ‘repair the world’ — and it feels like we did just that.”
The Breakfast Run is one of a series of events the temple conducts for the community. In addition to monthly visits to the Dorothy Day Hospitality House and Habitat for Humanity, congregants organize coat and toy collections, among various “mitzvah” projects.
For more information, visit www.tsiridgefield.org.