November 2009 e-Newsletter

I just returned from a social action fact-finding trip to Brazil along with Patti Vile, the founder of Volunteer Expeditions. We went to Rio de Janiero, Recife, and Salvador. We learned that the percentage of people living in favelas, expansive slums, is huge. But we also learned that there are people who seem to have a "heart and a half." They are determined to save the young people from a life of crime and degradation by teaching them music, circus acts, sports, English, etc. and by loving each and every one of them. There was one place where children with aptitude for music practice three to four hours every day and love every second of them. We met a recent Harvard graduate who went to Rio for six months to volunteer his time teaching basketball before he came back to the States to go into the corporate world. Someone told him it was pointless to go to Rio because there are so many poor and too many to be saved. He chose to say that if he could only help one child, then he would be grateful for that.
Look for more information in months to come as Patti Vile puts together a trip where you can volunteer your time to activities like teaching, painting, and fixing up communities that need our help.
In the meantime...
Check out the Volunteer Expeditions website to see the trips to New Orleans and all of the fabulous work done to help Katrina victims.
Sit with your grandchildren together and think about someone you know who has a "heart and a half', and write their story to me for publication in next month's newsletter.
Discuss with your grandchildren what it really means to have no books and toys, or even clothes, and how can they help. Let me know their answers.
Have a good Thanksgiving-and know that we have so, so many things for which to be grateful. Think about serving Thanksgiving meals in a soup kitchen. Be sure to say a prayer, thanking God for your blessings. Go around the table and have each person say one thing for which they are grateful, and have each person suggest one thing they might do to make life easier for a family member, friend, or stranger. Most importantly, remember to say "thank you" and "I love you" during the evening.

When we celebrate is Jewish tradition.
How we do it can be creative, meaningful, evolving family tradition.

Surely nothing challenges like Chanukah.
How can we make certain that our family values are obvious and significant in coexistence with presents?

Some thoughts:

    It has become a tradition in some families to go through books and toys prior to the seasonal deluge. Ideally, that includes items that children DO still care about. Perhaps we ought to consider evolving the motivational question from ‘What don’t I want anymore?’ to ‘What can other people use more than I can?’ Changing the lens through which we see our donations changes everything…. including the donor.

    Some families select one night of Chanukah to share gifts of tzedakah given in one another’s names. Select an organization that is meaningful to the recipient – such as, donate a pair of glasses in honor of someone who just began wearing them, donate the equivalent of a Shabbat dinner to an organization that provides food for homebound Jews to a ‘Shabbat friend’ of yours, donate the equivalent item that a child particularly loves to a child in a shelter for homeless families in honor of a grandchild, etc. Donations that are meaningful help to bridge the gap between ‘us’ and ‘them’, emphasizing the needs and desires that we all share.

    Before the gift-giving begins, present grandchildren with tzedakah gift certificates for donations that you made in their honor. Use information and graphics that you get from the internet or printed materials to make the gift certificates attractive and educational.

    Take grandchildren on a shopping spree and buy two of any item that you purchase – one for the grandchild and one for donation. Your grandchild might include a note to the recipient explaining why they selected the item and what they like about it.

    Share the gift that only you can give… the gift of family stories. It is a mitzvah to keep memories alive… memories of your own parents and grandparents, memories of your own children to share with your grandchildren. Share the gift of memory by creating oral histories or written diaries that you might add to in observance of future celebrations.

Social Action Showcase:

The Kindness Connection is an organization that was recently mentioned in the Chicago Tribune. According to the article, the organization "connects good people with good causes". The group began doing service projects for charitable organizations about three years ago based out of Wilmette, Ill. and has been expanding into Chicago and other areas. In the past year, "more than 5,500 volunteers made 10,000 projects, including medals for Special Olympians, toys for animals in shelters,...bag lunches for homeless shelters, tote bags for hospital patients in wheelchairs and on crutches, potted plants and door hangers for senior centers, and placemats for Meals on Wheels recipients." For information, call (847) 828-9804 or visit thekindnessconnection.org. The web site offers all kinds of volunteer opportunities.

Do One Nice Thing is an excellent resource for some diferent ideas committed to social action in communities across the US. Each Monday, D1NT publishes a list of various acts of kindness that anyone can do in their spare time to make the world a better place. Check it out at DoOneNiceThing.com.

It's storytime! Which tale will you tell?

Stories make great connections to young and old alike. Stories hold power and can carry legacies forward. Sharon Morton's grandchildren always ask her to read the same books over and over because they find comfort, inspiration, and a sense of fun in a particular book. Or they ask her to tell them a story about when they were babies, or when their mother was little, or when Sharon went to the hospital and whether she was scared. All these kinds of stories carry messages about how to live our lives.

What are your grandchildren's favorite stories??

Contact Sharon Morton at sharon@grandparentsforsocialaction.org and let us know which books are a hit in your family, so that we can share them with other grandparents in future editions of the e-Newsletter!

Speaking of books.... Would you like FREE ones?


November 2009	Hello Grandparents!
In This Issue: A Note from Bubbe Sharon Chanukah as a lesson Merry Mitzvot with TOV All For Good: a new website November book suggestion Social Action Showcase Free books from PJ Library About Us Our Mission: To educate and engage seniors to do social action; To empower grandchildren to make the world a better place; And to create a legacy from one generation to another. 840 Vernon Avenue Glencoe, Illinois 60022 office: (847) 948-5556 cell: (847) 477-2955 grandparentsforsocialaction.org Do us a HUGE favor!! If we want to provide our large network of seniors across the USA with the best possible opportunities for social action, we need to find out all of the successful things you and your family have done!! Please send us your stories! Send an email to our e-Newsletter staff (click here) with a short paragraph telling us what social action activities you do with your grandkids. We want to use your ideas for our next e-Newsletter! JUF TOV Highlights TOV's Merry Mitzvot Season is Here! Make it a Season to Remember by Volunteering with TOV! The JUF TOV Volunteer Network's winter calendar of one-time volunteer projects, Merry Mitzvot, is here! Merry Mitzvot offers many opportunities to give back during the holiday season. From sorting donations to serving food, you are sure to find a way to make your holidays more meaningful. Projects are open now from Sunday, November 22, 2009 through Friday, January 1, 2010! In conjunction with Merry Mitzvot, TOV will be collecting new or unopened travel-size toiletries and cleaning products to benefit the clients of local social service agencies. There are projects for individuals and groups of all ages. For more information or to sign up, please visit the TOV website or call the TOV hotline at (312) 357-4762. Book Suggestion A book to read as we approach Thanksgiving and are thankful for all that we have: Spinning Tales, Weaving Hope: Stories of Peace, Justice and the Environment edited by Ed Brody, Jay Goldspinner, Katie Green, Rona Leventhal and John Porcino. The book starts out telling us how to tell stories. Then after each story, we read about the follow up activities for the story. They can be activities, questions to explore, and projects to explore. Most of the stories are little treasures.	A Note from Bubbe Sharon I just returned from a social action fact-finding trip to Brazil along with Patti Vile, the founder of Volunteer Expeditions. We went to Rio de Janiero, Recife, and Salvador. We learned that the percentage of people living in favelas, expansive slums, is huge. But we also learned that there are people who seem to have a "heart and a half." They are determined to save the young people from a life of crime and degradation by teaching them music, circus acts, sports, English, etc. and by loving each and every one of them. There was one place where children with aptitude for music practice three to four hours every day and love every second of them. We met a recent Harvard graduate who went to Rio for six months to volunteer his time teaching basketball before he came back to the States to go into the corporate world. Someone told him it was pointless to go to Rio because there are so many poor and too many to be saved. He chose to say that if he could only help one child, then he would be grateful for that. Look for more information in months to come as Patti Vile puts together a trip where you can volunteer your time to activities like teaching, painting, and fixing up communities that need our help. In the meantime... Check out the Volunteer Expeditions website to see the trips to New Orleans and all of the fabulous work done to help Katrina victims. Sit with your grandchildren together and think about someone you know who has a "heart and a half', and write their story to me for publication in next month's newsletter. Discuss with your grandchildren what it really means to have no books and toys, or even clothes, and how can they help. Let me know their answers. Have a good Thanksgiving-and know that we have so, so many things for which to be grateful. Think about serving Thanksgiving meals in a soup kitchen. Be sure to say a prayer, thanking God for your blessings. Go around the table and have each person say one thing for which they are grateful, and have each person suggest one thing they might do to make life easier for a family member, friend, or stranger. Most importantly, remember to say "thank you" and "I love you" during the evening. -Sharon Morton Chanukah as a Lesson for Social Justice by Sharon Halper When we celebrate is Jewish tradition. How we do it can be creative, meaningful, evolving family tradition. Surely nothing challenges like Chanukah. How can we make certain that our family values are obvious and significant in coexistence with presents? Some thoughts: It has become a tradition in some families to go through books and toys prior to the seasonal deluge. Ideally, that includes items that children DO still care about. Perhaps we ought to consider evolving the motivational question from ‘What don’t I want anymore?’ to ‘What can other people use more than I can?’ Changing the lens through which we see our donations changes everything…. including the donor. Some families select one night of Chanukah to share gifts of tzedakah given in one another’s names. Select an organization that is meaningful to the recipient – such as, donate a pair of glasses in honor of someone who just began wearing them, donate the equivalent of a Shabbat dinner to an organization that provides food for homebound Jews to a ‘Shabbat friend’ of yours, donate the equivalent item that a child particularly loves to a child in a shelter for homeless families in honor of a grandchild, etc. Donations that are meaningful help to bridge the gap between ‘us’ and ‘them’, emphasizing the needs and desires that we all share. Before the gift-giving begins, present grandchildren with tzedakah gift certificates for donations that you made in their honor. Use information and graphics that you get from the internet or printed materials to make the gift certificates attractive and educational. Take grandchildren on a shopping spree and buy two of any item that you purchase – one for the grandchild and one for donation. Your grandchild might include a note to the recipient explaining why they selected the item and what they like about it. Share the gift that only you can give… the gift of family stories. It is a mitzvah to keep memories alive… memories of your own parents and grandparents, memories of your own children to share with your grandchildren. Share the gift of memory by creating oral histories or written diaries that you might add to in observance of future celebrations. Social Action Showcase: The Kindness Connection is an organization that was recently mentioned in the Chicago Tribune. According to the article, the organization "connects good people with good causes". The group began doing service projects for charitable organizations about three years ago based out of Wilmette, Ill. and has been expanding into Chicago and other areas. In the past year, "more than 5,500 volunteers made 10,000 projects, including medals for Special Olympians, toys for animals in shelters,...bag lunches for homeless shelters, tote bags for hospital patients in wheelchairs and on crutches, potted plants and door hangers for senior centers, and placemats for Meals on Wheels recipients." For information, call (847) 828-9804 or visit thekindnessconnection.org. The web site offers all kinds of volunteer opportunities. Do One Nice Thing is an excellent resource for some diferent ideas committed to social action in communities across the US. Each Monday, D1NT publishes a list of various acts of kindness that anyone can do in their spare time to make the world a better place. Check it out at DoOneNiceThing.com. It's storytime! Which tale will you tell? Stories make great connections to young and old alike. Stories hold power and can carry legacies forward. Sharon Morton's grandchildren always ask her to read the same books over and over because they find comfort, inspiration, and a sense of fun in a particular book. Or they ask her to tell them a story about when they were babies, or when their mother was little, or when Sharon went to the hospital and whether she was scared. All these kinds of stories carry messages about how to live our lives. What are your grandchildren's favorite stories?? Contact Sharon Morton at sharon@grandparentsforsocialaction.org and let us know which books are a hit in your family, so that we can share them with other grandparents in future editions of the e-Newsletter! Speaking of books.... Would you like FREE ones? The PJ Library is a program sponsored by the JUF for families with children 6 months to 6 years of age who are interested in exploring Jewish life. Families who sign up will receive a free book or CD in the mail each month. This month's selection is "Something from Nothing" by Phoebe Gilman. After describing the story in a small pamphlet, they provide a set of lessons that children can learn from the book, and suggestions for related activities. This is a fabulous program to consider for your own family! For more information, Chicagoland families should visit http://www.juf.org/pjlibrary. For those who don't live in the Chicago area, go to www.PJLibrary.org to find the PJ Library community program near you... there are over 100 communities nationwide!
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