The Charlotte Jewish News - November 2012 - Page 12
Schools
Giving Is Part of Our Education at Charlotte Jewish Preschool
By Kim Maguire and Becca
Weiner
At the Charlotte Jewish Pre-
sehool, part of our ehildren’s edu-
eation ineorporates giving
tzedakah and performing mitzvot.
As we eelebrated the holiday of
Sukkot, we were reminded of how
thankful we are for what we have.
During Sukkot, and espeeially
around this seeular time of year,
we are also reminded of people
that are less fortunate than we.
Many Amerieans, upon seeing
a deeorated Sukkah for the first
time are reminded of Thanksgiv
ing. Sukkot, a harvest festival like
Thanksgiving, ineludes feasts. We
are reminded of how thankful we
are to eat and have a roof over our
heads. The ehildren at CJP are
taught the eoneept of giving, as
they give tzedakah eaeh Friday at
Shabbat either by bringing in
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...where teaching is valued
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9502 Providence Road Charlotte, North Carolina 28277 www.charlottelatin.org
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coins and dollar bills or by con
tributing to our monthly tzedakah
project.
Each month the CJP engages in
a social action tzedakah project.
Our CJP families generously do
nate items of necessity - students
proudly bring in their items and
happily deposit their donations
into our oversized tzedakah box.
In September, we collected school
supplies for the sister schools of
Temple Beth El and Temple Israel
- Sterling Elementary and Hunt-
ingtowne Farms Elementary, re
spectively. We collected paper,
notebooks, folders, pencils, glue,
scissors, markers, crayons, high
lighters, and other supplies to
which students have limited ac
cess. These items were donated to
children who cannot afford their
own.
In honor of the harvest festival
of Sukkot, in October we donated
food items to the Jewish Family
Services food pantry. We collected
canned goods and dry goods to
help stock the pantry. Some class
rooms collected their own baskets
of canned goods as well and the
children brought the goods to JFS
themselves. The students were so
proud to bring their items and get
a peek at the pantry and the
shelves lined with food.
At the Charlotte Jewish Pre
school our community frequently
rallies around a cause in order for
those less fortunate than us to ben
efit. For example, two years ago
when there was a devastating
tsunami in Japan, families from
the CJP quickly raised more than
$600 to donate to the Tsunami Re
lief Fund. And, when a CJP parent
ran for Charlotte Man of the Year
last year we donated a month’s
worth of tzedakah to the
Leukemia and Lymphoma Soci
ety, the organization for which he
raised money during his cam
paign.
The tzedakah we collect each
Friday has helped many organiza
tions over the years. We have do
nated to local and international
organizations that benefit children
and families. Each year we donate
tzedakah to Shalom Bayit, our
local Jewish organization that
works to eliminate domestic vio
lence. Additionally, we make con
tributions to Room in the Inn at
Temple Israel, Temple Beth El,
and the Levine JCC. Annually we
make contributions to A Child’s
Place and this past year we do
nated tzedakah to The Freedom
School. The Freedom School op-
Charlotte Jewish
Preschool
leahh ■ Cihew - eoHhicT
crated on our Shalom Park cam
pus this summer to provide sum
mer school and programming for
students while school was out of
session.
Furthermore, annually we
adopt a tzedakah project that di
rectly impacts Israel. Two years
ago we raised enough money to
plant 80 trees in Israel through the
Jewish National Fund (JNF), and
last year we donated over $500 to
the JNF Parsons Water Fund
which helps provide potable water
to Israel. This year we have cho
sen Every Child Deserves a Heart.
This Israeli organization provides
cardiac care and surgeries to kids
who are unable to afford it.
Giving is part of our education
at the Charlotte Jewish Preschool.
We give money on Fridays for
Shabbat, we bring in items for the
less fortunate. We learn how to get
along with each other and help
other people. We talk about per
forming other mitzvot by spend
ing time in our Sukkahs having a
snack, eating a meal, or even
sleeping in it. As we approach
Thanksgiving, we teach our chil
dren to be thankful for what we
have and to be generous to those
who do not. Just watch a child tell
you about their good deeds. Their
eyes light up, they become very
animated as they tell us what they
have and why.
You do not need to be a mem
ber of CJP to donate to these
causes. We are happy to accept
any donations. If you are inter
ested in seeing our tzedakah cal
endar and participating in any of
our projects, please contact our
Judaica Specialist, Becca Weiner,
at bweiner@shalomcharlotte.org.
For more information about
having your child Learn, Grow,
and Connect with us, please con
tact Alyson Kalik, CJP registrar, at
704-944-6776 or akalik@shalom-
charlotte.org. Half day enrollment
for the 2012/2013 school year for
children ages 1-5 is currently un
derway. ^
“There are children playing in
the street who could solve
some of my top problems in
physics because they have
modes of sensory perception
that I lost long ago.”
-J. Robert Oppenheimer