This summer, President Obama is calling on each of us to do our part in our nation’s recovery and renewal by serving in our own communities. Serve.gov was launched to help with this effort. Visit their website and see what you can do.
Perhaps you have an idea for how to start your own service project and this site can give you the tools to develop that project.
Whatever you do, take this call to action and join in being part of the solution to move our country forward.
Each of us can change the world, one mitzvah at a time.
It’s July and it’s hot. Want a suggestion for a really easy mitzvah that will make several people smile this summer? Grab some cold drinks and put them in a cooler with some ice. Give away the cold drinks to anyone you can. The gas station attendent would love a drink, so would the lady directing traffic at the intersection where they are doing construction. How about the mailman or the counselors at your kids camp. Everyone needs to drink more in the summer and your cold drink will be a welcome gift. Your simple gift of a cold drink will give several people a reason to smile!
Today, I received a phone call from our local car dealership service department. Last week, my 10 year old van needed an additional several hundred dollars worth of maintenance while being inspected for my 90,000 mile service. Even though it was an unexpected expense my husband and I decided we would do all the recommended service. The service manager was very helpful, even saved me a few dollars by finding some coupons to bring the cost down. He also got me a loaner car since the work spanned two days.
Today, I received an automated “thank you call” for choosing to use their service department and doing the service with their company. They gave me a number to call if I had any further questions. Frankly, I find this completely unacceptable. If you are going to bother to make calls or send notes thanking your customers, have a real person do it! But to have an automated service calling seems pathetic. It actually turned me off and really made me consider if I’d want to use this company again. If the company really values their customers isn’t it worth a real person’s time to make these calls. Plus, if I did have a question, I would be speaking to a real person to share who could pass that information on to the appropriate department. But a recorded message? I didn’t even have a chance to grab a pen for the phone number I was given to call if I had further comments.
That reminds me, last week the new salon my daughter visited called after her initial appointment to thank her for her business and invite her to come in again sometime. Now that is the kind of good customer service that I’m talking about.
Last week was a bit crazy. My kids were home from school and we had several free days to spend together. On Wednesday, we decided to take a bike ride. A block from our house my 11 year old daughter spun out and fell over her handlebars. She was very shaken up and I took her to the doctor to check her out. Sure enough she had fractured her wrist. What a bummer for the first few weeks of summer. Instead of being mad, she was actually grateful. She realized it could have been her right arm, could have been her her shoulder or elbow or her leg, all of which she thought would be harder then just a short cast over her wrist. Also, I think she thought the attention with a cast on would be fun. So far it actually has been.
At the end of the week, I spoke with the Rebbetzin. I had hoped to visit her during the week but with the accident, it just didn’t happen. I was definitely on nurse duty and trying to help my daughter however I could. Thursday she was a complete couch potato and needed water, Motrin and just some Mommy time.
When I spoke to the Rebbetzin she told me that taking care of my daughter had been my mitzvah for the week. I reminded her that several months ago she told me I couldn’t “count” helping my children or my husband as “mitzvahs”. She originally told me that as a wife and mother these activities are just part of our daily lives and aren’t considered mitzvahs. She had forgotten telling me that and rescinded that opinion, she said anytime we are going beyond the call of duty it should count as a mitzvah we are giving the other person. It was an amusing conversation because I had definitely thought about what she had said whenever I was doing things for my family these past several months.
Since I am no longer “counting” mitzvahs it really doesn’t matter. Taking care of a child who has been hurt is number one on any parents list. I actually enjoyed my daughter’s quieter demeanor for a few hours. Sometimes these days I get more hugging when my kids are sick than when they are well. Go figure!
This weekend my stepfather and husband had planned to spend the day hiking together. My stepfather parked his car on the right side of the street outside of our home and took off. About an hour later, our neighbors who I don’t know all that well and are currently staying at the house next door, rang the doorbell. The wife asked if we knew whose car was in front of our house because it had begun to roll down the hill. The husband was already in front of the car doing his best to stop it from rolling. I immediately ran out to stop the car too. I didn’t have the keys to the car and it was locked so we just did what we could to roll the car to the opposite side of the street where it could rest against the curb. My stepfather wasn’t suppose to be home for several hours but I sent him this picture and called so he would know what was going on.
I was so grateful to our neighbors for being aware and coming to tell us that something was amiss. Don’t forget to be that kind of a neighbor!
Tikkun Olam Award for Bar/Bat Mitzvah student in 2009-2010
Tikkun Olam translates into healing the world or perfecting the world. For different people this may mean different things including religious , political or social activities.
Today, I found an awesome green company called Twisted Limb Paperworks, based in South Central Indiana. They create colorful handmade 100% recycled paper using old colored office paper and grocery bags, recycled water, and include flowers, wildflower seeds, grass from their field and ferns from their woods. I know that more than once while working on my 1000 Mitzvah project, I mentioned how writing heartfelt notes of thanks or gratitude or a condolence card can make such a big difference. How cool to have such a wonderful source for green eco friendly cards. I was even more excited to discover that this company has just announced their first annual Tikkun Olam Service Award for the mitzvah service project that offers the most creative and most impactful solution to an environmental or social problem in your community or the world.
To be eligible you must be between 11-13 years old and be having your bar/bat mitzvah in 2009-2010. Not only will you be able to share your story, you will also be eligible for some cool prizes. Full details and all the information necessary to share your story is at: Twisted Limb Paperworks, check it out soon, the due date for submissions is in August!
Sounds like the perfect combination of green mitzvahs to me! I will put their information on my resource page as well.
I received a call tonight from a friend’s mom looking for contact information for the Sunshine Pantry. She told me she had decided this year in honor of Father’s Day she was going to have her children and grandchildren bring food items and offer their assistance to the Sunshine Pantry to restock shelves or whatever else they could do to help. ” We have what we need and I would love the opportunity to give back to other families that don’t have what they need this year.” She’s right and what a great idea for celebrating a holiday with your family.
What do you have planned for Father’s Day this year? Maybe your family has a great idea for a way to spend a holiday that gives back. If not, visit the The Hands On Portland calendar to see what opportunities are available to volunteer locally. There are still volunteers needed for many events this month. Perhaps you can help out Potluck in the Park any Sunday afternoon and help serve food to homeless men and women. There are options for ongoing opportunities as well as done in a day projects.
Send me any of your ideas for volunteering during a holiday, I’ll be sure to post them too!
Last week, I dashed into the bathroom prior to a meeting. I was on the agenda to give a speech that day and wanted to take care of all important items of business beforehand. Much to my dismay, I suddenly realized that the zipper on the side of my pants was stuck. There was no way I could get it to budge. I made a quick decision and decided I better wait until after my speech to tend to the matter. I waited until my turn, gave my speech and quickly dashed back to the bathroom. At that point, I was getting desperate. A women was coming out of the bathroom and I asked for her assistance. She knelt on the floor and giggled the zipper until it slid down. I asked if she would wait to help me zip it up. When I came out she was waiting to help me again. I was beyond grateful. This complete stranger spent several minutes and helped me in a very private and elemental way. I never got her name but thanked her for her help. The rest of the day, I kept thinking what a wonderful mitzvah I had received from a stranger.
Two months ago, my family and I joined a new synagogue. I have an old college friend who has worked at the synagogue for years. She was thrilled that we were becoming members. That week, she asked me to help with a project. I was to write condolence cards on behalf of the Bikur Cholim committee (see post called Bikur Cholim dated May 4, 2009). The first cards were easy to write. I felt like I was connecting with another human being who had also experienced loss. I counted it as one of my 1000 mitzvahs. The next week, I learned that the women whom I was agreeing to help had been doing this job for years and was thrilled to have a replacement.
In my inbox, the next week two emails arrived with the subject: Deaths from the synagogue secretary. It was a bit disturbing. I hadn’t thought about all of the family members to whom I would be sending these notes. It’s not that I don’t want to be part of this project since I am sure those notes are received and greatly appreciated by the recipients. I just keep thinking now that I am “behind on my assignment” - how did I get myself into this one? Being behind on this ongoing project, is almost worse than when I have my own thank you notes to send out.
For now, I’ll try and keep up with the cards. When emails with the subject: Deaths arrive in my mailbox, I’ll try to jump. I will remind myself that the recipient on the other end of my card is grateful. Or I’ll call my friend and tell her that now I need help too.
When people send you thank you notes or notes of gratitude what do you do with them? I suggest you find a special bag, book or box and put all of these notes into it. You would be amazed how that bag or book can help you on a difficult day. It can be a reminder that you are loved and have made a difference in other people’s life.
I ran into a friend the other day who reminded me about this concept. He had worked as a chaplain at a local hospital. There he met a women who had created her own bag and had called it her Bag of Love. She had saved all of the notes, trinkets and little thank you gifts anyone had ever given her. I love my journal of love. I save the cards I receive. What a wonderful way to visibly remember that what we do in this life matters to others. Incase you forget how fabulous you are, your can grab your bag of love to remind yourself.
I began this blog in January 2007, a month after my father died. It was a way to move through the darkness of grief that I was feeling at that time. It has proved to be a transforming experience both for myself and my family. This mitzvah project has allowed us opportunities to talk more about my father, doing mitzvahs and sharing more family stories. Through this project, I have moved from the darkness of grief back to the lightness of life.
It’s July and it’s hot. Want a suggestion for a really easy mitzvah that will make several people smile this summer? Grab some cold drinks and put them in a cooler with some ice. Give away the cold drinks to anyone you can. The gas station attendent would love a drink, so would the lady directing traffic at the intersection where they are doing construction. How about the mailman or the counselors at your kids camp. Everyone needs to drink more in the summer and your cold drink will be a welcome gift. Your simple gift of a cold drink will give several people a reason to smile!
e department. Last week, my 10 year old van needed an additional several hundred dollars worth of maintenance while being inspected for my 90,000 mile service. Even though it was an unexpected expense my husband and I decided we would do all the recommended service. The service manager was very helpful, even saved me a few dollars by finding some coupons to bring the cost down. He also got me a loaner car since the work spanned two days.
This weekend my stepfather and husband had planned to spend the day hiking together. My stepfather parked his car on the right side of the street outside of our home and took off. About an hour later, our neighbors who I don’t know all that well and are currently staying at the house next door, rang the doorbell. The wife asked if we knew whose car was in front of our house because it had begun to roll down the hill. The husband was already in front of the car doing his best to stop it from rolling. I immediately ran out to stop the car too. I didn’t have the keys to the car and it was locked so we just did what we could to roll the car to the opposite side of the street where it could rest against the curb. My stepfather wasn’t suppose to be home for several hours but I sent him this picture and called so he would know what was going on.
Last week, I dashed into the bathroom prior to a meeting. I was on the agenda to give a speech that day and wanted to take care of all important items of business beforehand. Much to my dismay, I suddenly realized that the zipper on the side of my pants was stuck. There was no way I could get it to budge. I made a quick decision and decided I better wait until after my speech to tend to the matter. I waited until my turn, gave my speech and quickly dashed back to the bathroom. At that point, I was getting desperate. A women was coming out of the bathroom and I asked for her assistance. She knelt on the floor and giggled the zipper until it slid down. I asked if she would wait to help me zip it up. When I came out she was waiting to help me again. I was beyond grateful. This complete stranger spent several minutes and helped me in a very private and elemental way. I never got her name but thanked her for her help. The rest of the day, I kept thinking what a wonderful mitzvah I had received from a stranger.
