THE MICHELLE MITZVAH GROUP was formed as a living memorial to honor one of the children in our synagogue community.
Actions of the Michelle Mitzvah Group are primarily for the benefit of youth, both within the synagogue and in the greater community at large.

The focus of the efforts is “hands on” projects that will hopefully encourage participation from Beth Haverim Shir Shalom members, to instill and reaffirm the practice, value and covenant of mitzvah. We support ourselves with voluntary donations and the interest from our initial funding. There is no attempt to solicit funds, and membership is without dues. We feel that we are living the Jewish teachings and giving substance to the commandments by doing. Many of us decided that this could be as part of our teachings by example to our children.

EVENTS:

Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation – Guest Speaker at March 2 Shabbat Services and Bone Marrow Drive on March 7

During Shabbat Services on March 2, bringing Tikkun Olam into your family will be explored. Meet a stem cell donor who saved the life of a young girl from Philadelphia. Ben donated his stem cells and understood that he would be a lifesaving hero to a young girl. What Ben and his wife Melissa did not anticipate was the joy and meaning it brought to them and their two children as this family learned about the Gift of Life. Their family was touched in ways they never anticipated. Even though one must be eighteen years and older to register, Ben's mitzvah extended into his son's Bar Mitzvah. Learn how every family's lives can be enriched as one becomes a potential donor with The Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation. A powerful presentation for the entire family.

March 7 - Bone Marrow Drive during Purim

 A bone marrow drive with the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation will be held before and after Megillah reading  on March 7.  Registering to be a potential donor is simple to do with a simple cheek swab to anyone between the ages of 18 and 60 and in general good health.

Gift of Life was founded in 1991 when Jay Feinberg, at the age of 22, was diagnosed with Leukemia. His only hope for a cure was through a bone marrow transplant. Finding a match is genetically linked so all members of the Feinberg family were tested but no matches were identified. His brothers were matches for each other but not for Jay. Jay is of Ashkenazi descent and at the time there was less than a 5% chance of finding a match within this ethnic background. The effects of the Holocaust are still felt today, as 6 million potential bloodlines have been severed. Jay's family and friends began an international campaign to search for him. Over a period of 4 years, matches were being found for others.  One last drive was held in Milwaukee because Jay's disease was progressing and the doctors were pushing to go with a major mismatch. It was at this drive that a young woman, the last tested that day and the 60,000th donor to be tested, turned out to be Jay's perfect match. Jay had decided that if he survived he would make this his life mission. He serves as Executive Director of Gift of Life today, which has over 193,000 potential donors and has facilitated over 2400 transplants worldwide. There is now a 70% chance of finding a match within the Ashkenazi population. Sephardim are still very underrepresented in the public registries.

 At this drive you will have an opportunity to be able to save a life. Being tested is very simple through a simple cheek swab. Today 80% of transplants are done through peripheral blood. This is a process similar to donating platelets using an aphaeresis machine. Only 20% of transplants are done through bone marrow. In this process the donor is put under general aesthesia during the procedure while a needle is inserted in the iliac crest bone. In both cases the donor walks out of the hospital the same day.

 There is no charge to enter the registry however Gift of Life incurs a $54 lab processing fee for every kit that gets sent to the lab. If you are interested in offsetting the cost of your own kit or help offset the cost of others, donations will be gladly accepted. There are currently thousands of kits waiting to be sent to the lab.

 Please consider getting tested. You could help Ezra, who is almost 3 and has been searching for over a year for a match. Ezra is from Bergen County and has been diagnosed with Hyper IGM syndrome, a primary immune deficiency.
Could you be his hero?

       Information on becoming a donor and helping Ezra and others like him can be found on the Gift of Life's website at www.giftoflife.org.        

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Michelle Mitzvah Party at Children’s Specialized Hospital in Mountainside, NJ
Join us and do a mitzvah, on Sunday, February 5. All volunteers will meet in the BHSS parking lot at 12:15 pm, and we will drive to the hospital (about 40 min. drive). The party will be from 1:15-3:30 pm. Join Cantor Perper as we sing songs and bring smiles to children in need! For more information or to sign up as a volunteer, email Bobby Mass at bobby@comfortconcepts.com. If you prefer to meet us there, the address is: Children's Specialized Hospital, 150 New Providence Rd., Mountainside, NJ 07092. (908-233-3720 ext. 5162)

Valentine’s Day Cookie Drive for Troops Serving Overseas
The Michelle Mitzvah Group, in partnership with Adopt A Soldier Platoon, is asking congregants to bake homemade or purchase cookies for our troops serving overseas. Please drop off your cookies at the synagogue during school hours on Sunday, February 5  (9-11:45 am), Monday, February 6  (4-6:30 pm) and Tuesday, February 7 (4-6:30 pm).

If you can’t make it during those hours, please contact Rhonda Goodman at rhondagood@optonline.net, or call her at 201-962-2254, to make other arrangements. There will be a collection box in the education wing of the temple to deposit your cookies.  Please be sure the cookies are packaged well, preferably in a tin or plastic container -- they will be traveling far across the world.

In addition to baking cookies, it would be great to include a note to our soldiers thanking them for their service to our country and mentioning that they are thought of often. 
This is a great “mitzvah” project to do with your family.

The Center for Food Action - Mahwah, NJ
Our support of the CFA continues year round.
Please bring a non-perishable item of food to the synagogue every time you come.
Thank you for your continued support.

Gift Cards for Tomorrow Children's Fund & Center for Food Action
Support the children with cancer and our neighbors in need by donating gift cards to major chain stores. Please donate gift cards from Shoprite, Pathmark, A&P, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Old Navy, Wal-Mart, etc. and place in the donation display cases at the synagogue. Sponsored by the Michelle Mitzvah Group in partnership with Sisterhood & Brotherhood.

Support our Brave Soldiers
The Michelle Mitzvah Group, in partnership with Sisterhood, Brotherhood and Youth Group is actively collecting much needed items for our brave soldiers serving overseas. Specifically, we are sending items to the 5th Stryker Brigade serving in Afganistan. Items needed include, movie DVDs, music CDs, body wash and other personal care toiletry items (small individual sizes), healthy snack foods such as protein Cliff or power bars, soft cover books and candy. Donation baskets are located in the front lobby and the education wing at temple. For more inofrmation, please contact Bobby Mass at (201)941-6700.