Dear Diary,

I had a busy week as you'll soon see. On Monday, I stopped by Community Synagogue in Port Washington. They had a congregational dinner on Friday night and there was much food left over. The rabbi called me and asked if I'd like to pick it up and take it to the Interfaith Nutrition Network (INN) soup kitchen in Hempstead. Of course, I said, "Yes."

There were more than 20 platters of meat, vegetables, and salads. The staff at the INN was really delighted when I delivered all this food. Much of it will become dinner at three of their emergency shelters, which house over 100 men, women, and children every night.

Tuesday, I had my car stuffed with clothing donations. Every day, new donations come in from my neighbors in Great Neck. A local clothing store gave me four large boxes of brand-new children's clothing. There were also bags of coats and winter garments that two of my customers had collected. Every day, when I come home from work, there are bags left on my front porch by kind-hearted souls. This carload was also dropped off at the INN, where it will be distributed free of charge to anyone who needs it.

Wednesday was the best day of the week. One of my customers did a toy drive and everyone at their office donated new toys. Their generosity filled my car with boxes and bags of games, toys, and other holiday treats. Last year, the INN gave out more than 5,000 toys to families who wanted their children to have the same kind of happy holidays that our children have had in past years.

When I dropped the toys off, one of the staff members at the INN asked if I was related to Santa. I told him that I was an honorary elf. We both laughed.

Dear Diary, as you can see it was a busy week, but also a really good one.