Lending A Han
Sharon Silber, 16, Jennifer Katz, 14, and Tammy Silber, 14, prepare
to deliver dinner trays at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen in Detroit.
A new Detroiter joins 800 Jewish volunteers
on Mitzvah Day.
Sharon Silber
Special to the Jewish News
M
onday, Dec. 25, was my
first time taking part
in a Mitzvah Day in
Metro Detroit. It was a very enjoy-
able mitzvah.
My parents, Alan and Elizabeth,
my sister, Tammy, my cousin,
Jennifer Katz from Panama, and I
went to Capuchin Soup Kitchen in
Detroit along with other volun-
teers who gathered at the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit. My cousin, Jennifer, just
arrived from Panama a couple of
hours before. We got to Federation
in Bloomfield Township on time
to meet the other volunteers even
though we didn't sleep much
Sunday night since her flight was
delayed and she arrived at 2 a.m.
At the soup kitchen, there
was a man at the piano singing
Christmas songs and another one
dressed as a clown that made bal-
loon animals for the kids.
We were responsible for getting
the trays and serving them to the
16
December 28 2006
people. We were happy to be there
and be able to wish them a merry
Christmas and try to make it a
special occasion for them, not just
another regular meal.
We got in the Christmas mood
and went to sing with the piano
man the only Christmas song we
know. It was a song in English and
Spanish with a cheerful beat and
we were delighted to see many
smiling faces enjoying our impro-
vised performance.
My family enjoyed Mitzvah
Day a lot and thought it was a
great experience. Jennifer said, "I
think it is very nice to have a place
where they open the door to the
ones in need and receive them
with big smiles." Tammy said, "It
was a good first-time experience.
The first person I served his food
gave me a big hug and thanked
me. It was really nice:'
Doing this mitzvah on
Christmas Day made me feel very
good because I knew that I was
helping unfortunate people that
don't have enough money to have
a nice meal with their families.
There are all types of people in
this world and everyone likes to
follow their religious beliefs —
we were able to help make that
possible. We provided them with
food and music. It also helped me
to realize there are many people
in need and every opportunity to
help can make a difference.
I think it is very nice how they
have amazing places, such as the
soup kitchen, to help less-fortu-
nate people. I am glad that I got
to hear about this great com-
munity service opportunity from
my school, the Frankel Jewish
Academy.
I would like to thank
Federation and the Jewish
Community Council for co-
hosting Mitzvah Day and the
other volunteers who made this
Mitzvah Day possible.
Tammy, Sharon, Jennifer and Elizabeth Silber sing "Feliz Navidad"
with Capuchin volunteer Alex Safi of Sterling Heights.
Sharon Silber and her family, of West
Bloomfield, are newcomers to Detroit
from Puerto Rico. Sharon is a junior
at the Frankel Jewish Academy of
Metropolitan Detroit.
Jacoby Spearman, 1 1 /2, of Detroit thanks Sharon Silber for dinner.