With great pride, Temple Beth-El will hold its 10th annual Mitzvah Day on Sunday, April 30. As in previous years, it continues to be a great opportunity for Temple Beth-El's congregants, their friends, and others in the community to express the values of kindness, compassion and justice. The Brotherhood Mitzvah Project, which brings residents of local nursing homes to the synagogue for a service, luncheon and entertainment, will once again be held midday along with all the other Mitzvah Day projects. This year, with so many people out of work, social service agencies on Long Island and in Queens face a growing number of people seeking their services. All of the Mitzvah Day volunteers, as well as those who bring in items from the wish list, will help these agencies serve these hungry, homeless and infirm.

Residents of the homes in Great Neck that serve people with learning and developmental disabilities, as well as those who live alone, will participate in folk and line dancing expertly led by Sid Fidelman. The many hours families often spend in the waiting room at the Department of Social Services will be a bit more pleasant with the activity kits, books, and magazines that volunteers will pack on Mitzvah Day.

Temple Beth-El volunteers will continue to spread joy by holding parties at local hospitals, entertaining nursing home residents with song, arts and crafts, bringing children to a museum, and visiting the homebound.

This year Temple Beth-El is joining with others from synagogues in Great Neck and with people from throughout America by attending the Rally to Stop Genocide in Washington, DC in order to call national attention to the crisis in Darfur. Buses will be leaving from Great Neck. For more information, contact Rabbi Crystal at DCrystal@TBEGreatNeck.org or call 487-0900, ext. 116.

On this special Mitzvah Sunday, Temple Beth-El will be joining with Temple Isaiah and Temple Israel in sponsoring a Mitzvah Walk, to collect donations for the Tikva Children's Home, created to address the growing crises of orphaned, abandoned and homeless Jewish children in Odessa. The 2.5-mile walk will begin at 1:30 p.m. from Temple Beth-El with registration beginning 15 minutes prior to its start.

The Long Island Services Blood Drive will be at Temple Beth-El on Mitzvah Day. Temple Beth-El hopes the entire community will participate in the blood drive during the hours 9:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Please call Barbara Eisenberg at 466-2480 for information and to schedule a time.

Our local supermarkets will again have Temple Beth-El volunteers handing out to shoppers a list of items to purchase from their Wish List while they shop. These items will be sorted, packed and delivered to the individual agencies.

Mitzvah Day 2006 has been co-coordinated by a committee led by Rabbis Altman and Crystal and assisted mightily by a group of outstanding project captains. Volunteers can sign-up in advance or on Mitzvah Day at Temple Beth-El. Temple Beth-El is located at 5 Old Mill Road, at the corner of Old Mill Road and Middle Neck Road. The temple's number is 487-0900.

Temple Beth-El hopes the whole community will help them fill their Wish List. The items can be delivered to the Temple before Mitzvah Day or brought to the Temple on Mitzvah Day, Sunday, April 30, only until noon. These items will make life brighter for so many people.

The wish list includes: non-perishable foods such as canned fish, canned vegetables, pasta and sauces, rice and dried beans, cake mix, pancake mix, Kosher individual breakfast cereals, Kosher individual 100 percent juice packs, Kosher shelf milk and condensed milk, Kosher breakfast bars and individual raisin packs, soups, coffee and teas; paper products such as paper towels, tissues, toilet paper; personal care items such as razors and shaving cream, combs, toothpaste and toothbrushes, shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, body lotion; for the baby, including lotion, shampoo, powder, wipes, and disposable diapers; household supplies such as kitchen utensils, buckets, mops and sponges, baskets.

Please ensure that any gently used items have been cleaned prior to donation: clothing that is new or gently used for men and women for spring and summer, including maternity clothes and new underwear, and new socks, pajamas and underwear for children, as well as new hats and baseball caps and new barrettes and headbands.

Also needed are school supplies such as crayons, color pencils and markers, drawing pads and small coloring books, new or gently used backpacks, 3-ring binders, notebooks, pens, pencils, erasers, glue sticks, folders, highlighters and index cards.

The wish list also asks for books, games and magazines, including gently used children's books (and pre-reader to third grade books), new toys and puzzles and games, and Target and Pathmark gift cards, new or gently used sheets, pillowcases, blankets, towels, dish towels and pot holders.