Minneapolis sends its love to Sderot
Wishing to express their support for children of rocket-battered Sderot, Minneapolis Jewish teens collect and send packages containing candies, toys and letters to their peers abroad. Packages distributed by local volunteers
Teenagers of the Minneapolis Jewish community have recently decided to try and form ties with their peers in the rocket-battered town of Sderot, and express their support for the young people living under the constant Qassam threat.
With the help of several members of the community, the teens collected (kosher) candies and toys and prepared dozens of packages for the Israeli town's children, to which they attached personal letters containing warm words of sympathy.
Young volunteers in Sderot prepare packages for distribution (Photos: Anat Rom)
The senders said they hope that the recipients would be interested in establishing a correspondence with their Minneapolis peers, and send updates on life in Sderot and Israel.
The goal of this initiative was "not just to do a tikun olam project but also to educate the teens (and by so doing, the community as well) about a current events in Israel," explained Eilat Harel of the Israel Program Center in Minneapolis.
'Thank you for caring'
The packages were recently distributed to children at risk, students of the Hadar School for special-needs children and to children of single-parent homes in Sderot, by volunteers from the Neemaney Beit Hamitnadev center, which promotes social involvement among teenagers, and students of the Peleh project.
Following their visit to the Hadar School, Peleh student Hagit Yssu said, "I felt that I was contributing to the community in Sderot by putting a smile on the children's faces. I wish to thank the Minneapolis community for caring about us and for sending the packages."
Getting ready to do some good
Shoshana Cohen, who runs the Greenhouse Project for children at risk, added that "the packages gave the children the feeling that someone was thinking about them and looking out for them."
"I wish to thank, from the bottom of my heart, the members of the Jewish community in Minneapolis for their donations, and the teenagers who took part in this initiative," said Liraz Madmoni, who runs the Neemaney Beit Hamitnadev project.
"It's encouraging to see how one simple act of good will puts together groups of teenage girls and boys from different places across the world," she added.
