Beth Israel students assemble “care packages”

Sunday, Dec. 4 was Mitzvah Day for students in Congregation Beth Israel Youth Engagement Program — which was good news for several nonprofits serving Hartford’s youth and homeless populations. More than 40 students in grades three through six participated in the program, which was organized by the Reform congregation’s Social Justice Committee, in partnership with: My Sister’s Place, a homeless shelter and transitional service provider for women and children; The Bridge Family Center, providing teen shelter and family services in West Hartford; and Boys and Girls Clubs of Hartford, a provider of after-school recreational and educational programming to Hartford youth. Students assembled care packages to donate to clients of each of these agencies, along with handcrafted holiday greeting cards.

“[It] was a wonderful learning experience for our 3-6 grade religious school students,” said Lauren Benthien, director of the Beth Israel Youth Engagement Program. “They learned about important community agencies and about tikkun olam to ‘repair our world’, a central value of our faith. We appreciate the hardworking efforts of CBI’s co-chairs of the Social Justice Committee, Andy Katz and Bennett Forrest, and the leadership from each agency who helped to make this a special learning experience for our students.”

CAP: Beth Israel’s 3rd & 4th grade students at Mitzvah Day