Last month, Handmaker was honored to be one of the organizations included in a philanthropic event called Mitzvah Fair. The Fair was put together by students from the Kol Ami Religious School (Legacy Synagogues, Or Chadash, and Temple Emanu-el of Tucson), and Congregation Anshei Israel’s Religious School before Winter Break. The event raised $885 for eight local non-profit organizations in Tucson. Students also learned about each organization’s mission, and its work in the community.
Congregation Anshei Israel’s 7th and 8th grade religious school students researched, prepared, and created presentations about Handmaker. They also raised nearly $100 for Handmaker to be used for Jewish programming.
The funds were received the week before the holiday and were used for supplies for Handmaker’s very own Tu b’shevat Seder.
About 20 residents in the Rubin Assisted Living Neighborhood participated in the Seder. Some of the participants remembered past Tu b’shevat Seders at Handmaker, some had never been to a Seder like this before, and some had never heard of the holiday. However, all of the attendees appreciated learning about Tu b’shevat, and participating in discussions about our relationships to the physical world, and the importance of protecting our earth and our community. Participants also enjoyed drinking their four small cups of wine or grape juice from light to dark symbolizing the cycles of nature, and tasting a variety of different fruits and nuts throughout the Seder.
