Emily celebrated her 12th birthday in February 2010. Project Cover Up is a special project that she initiated in honour of her Bat Mitzvah.

Let me take a moment to talk about what a Bat Mitzvah means to me as a Jew. I asked myself, what does a Bat Mitzvah mean to me? I kept telling my friends what I wanted to get and what I planned to buy. I was so excited but I realized that it’s not about the gifts, it’s not about any of that. Becoming a Bat Mitzvah means to grow up, to become more mature, and to be welcomed into the Jewish community as a young adult. I am now expected to take care of things myself, and not to rely on my parents for everything. But, it’s not just that. It is so much more. I have expectations to do mitzvot, give tzedakah, and fulfill the 613 mitzvot of the torah. I will work at fulfilling as many mitzvot as I can, one of which is Tikun Olam, which brings me to this.

On December 24th my family and I had the pleasure of going to see The Sound of Music at The Royal Alexandra Theatre downtown. It was a cold day, snowing a little, and definitely not a great day to be outside. On the sidewalk next to where we parked was a grate. We saw a young man wearing a heavy sweater, without a jacket or mitts, checking the grate for heat so he could warm himself. My dad said that he had a fleece blanket in our car and wondered if we should give it to the man. We all agreed, OF COURSE, and proceeded to get the blanket out of the trunk and we all walked over to him and gave it to the man. He could not believe it. He was so touched, so grateful, so appreciative.

It is something that we all take for granted – covering up whenever we are cold. To this gentleman it was like winning a lottery. He wrapped himself in the blanket, lay down on the grate adorned in his precious garment. The sigh of relief from the man’s mouth said it all!

My purpose is to be responsible not only for myself and for my actions but to be responsible for others – to help others less fortunate than me – and I know how very fortunate I truly am! In trying to make some kind of connection between my Parashat and extract some meaning from it, with the help of my mom, I decided to create my very own tzedakah project.

I call it Project Cover Up. My Mom, the greatest sourcer of merchandise and deals that I know, went out and purchased 125 Queen sized fleece blankets. I partnered up with a fantastic organization called Ve’ahavta to reach the homeless and get these blankets delivered. They believe in the role of Tikun Olam – the act of repairing the world.

On January 21st my mom, dad and me went out in a van (not just any van – it’s called The Mobile Jewish Response to the Homeless) driven and supported by Ve’ahavta and delivered the 125 fleece blankets on the streets of Toronto to the homeless. We worked from 6pm until midnight and it was COLD. Ironically though, it was the most heart warming experience of my life! The people who we gave our blankets to were so grateful, so moved, so touched, and they were so WARM.

In some cases, the thing that they needed most was not food or clothing or a blanket (although they were incredibly grateful to receive any or all of these items) but a friendly face, someone to talk to, a conversation that they really appreciated. I got so much out of this experience. One random act of kindness…well actually 125 random acts of kindness…this is the meaning of Tikun Olam.

On January 21, 2010 I began my mission of Tikun Olam – to repair the world – one blanket at a time. It all stared with that one blanket but in a short time it reached another 125 people in need. With this tzedekah project I was able to reach a significant number of poverty stricken people.

We all have the strength to make a difference in this world we live in, and often take for granted, and I believe that this project has the potential to become bigger and better. I believe that this project not only made a difference in the lives of the homeless people, but it certainly a difference in my life as a new responsible adult.

- Emily F.

Great news!

The 40′ container that Ve’ahavta packed and sent on November 30, 2009 arrived safely at the Howard Hospital in Zimbabwe. The shipment took three months to arrive.

Thanks to our donors, partners, and volunteers, the Howard Hospital continues to be one of the only fully operational public hospitals in the country, providing medical services for 155,000 patient visits each year.

The container was filled to capacity; it included:

• an ultrasound machine
• an ECG machine
• a fetal monitor
• 3,000+ boxes of medicine and medical supplies
• crutches
• canes
• an electric scooter
• toilet paper
• scrubs
• used clothes
• 700 pairs of shoes

The shipment also included 1,600 Kinder Kits destined for the Kenyamba primary and secondary schools.

Should you give money to a homeless person panhandling on the sidewalk?

Through our generous donors, we have raised $260,000 for the people of Haiti, and are now providing aid to 200 orphans at the House of Hope Orphanage in Port-au-Prince. We have also granted funds to Magen David Adom emergency relief workers on the ground, Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief, Health Partners International of Canada, and the Ve’ahavta Volunteer Scholarship and Support Fund.

Ve’ahavta is monitoring the situation on the ground in Chile following a devastating 8.8 magnitude earthquake on Saturday, February 27th. Nearly two million people have been affected by the earthquake in Chile, with close to a thousand feared dead or missing, several hundred Canadians among them. Thousands throughout the country have been displaced, sleeping on the streets out of fear of aftershocks.

Approximately 20,000 Jews live in Chile, more than half in the capital of Santiago. According to reports from the country, Jewish facilities were either lightly damaged or were largely unaffected. Ve’ahavta is accepting donations for Chile. Donations will be distributed through the Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief (www.jdc.org/jcdr_main.html) to partner agencies which are providing crisis relief in Chile. For more information, please call 416-964-7698.

On Tuesday March 30th, 2010, Ve’ahavta will be hosting its 11th Annual Passover Seder for the Homeless, and we need your support!

Please consider donating the following items for the event Marketplace:

• Men’s, women’s, children’s clothing and shoes (good condition only please)
• non-perishable kosher food items (canned/boxed)
• childrens’ toys

Please contact Jackie Stein at jackie@veahavta.org

*please do not drop off supplies without confirmation

Our six person volunteer team departed this Sunday for Guyana on Ve’ahavta’s 12^th medical mission. The team is operating a mobile medical clinic, providing free primary care and health care support to indigenous communities. Our volunteers are also focusing on health promotion and education, as well as supporting local health care workers in their efforts to build and strengthen local communities. So far the team has run clinics in Itaballi and Four Mile, and have seen approximately 200 patients so far. The team will be flying into the interior community of Kamarang on Thursday to run a series of clinics in local Amerindian villages.

We recently received two reports from a volunteer, Dr. Mark Fenig, who we have helped sponsor and who is now providing relief support in Haiti.

Report 1:  Dr. Mark Fenig

Day two has been super-tiring. Despite docs and nurses and volunteers numbering over 70 there seems to be an endless amount of work. I flew here with 3 orthopedic surgeons, 2 anasthesiologists, 2 physiotherapists, and 4 nurses, 1 internist (and I’m and ER Doc). Our team is one of about ten from various States and Countries. Everyone works well together so things are running as efficiently as you could expect in such a resource poor environment. Read the rest of this entry »

Hannah Damiani celebrated  her 7th birthday on January 9, 2010. She asked all of her friend to make donations to Ve’ahavta, instead of presents, to help the homeless. In January, Hannah and her brother Seth, came into Ve’ahavta’s office to give us the funds they had raised to help the homeless.  What a beautiful and compassionate gesture. We learn much from little people. Read the rest of this entry »

To follow regular updates on the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund, click here.