During times of self-isolation and social distancing as a way of flattening the COVID-19 curve, celebrating Passover involves a few challenges. Beth Isreal hosted a Facebook Live seder on Wednesday. The Jewish Family Service (JFS) of Atlantic and Cape May Counties offered a reading from the Haggadah on Thursday via Zoom. One of the things I love most about the Jewish religion is the sense of community responsibility. JFS offered up a few volunteer opportunities at the Jersey Shore that allow you to help others during this trying time. In turn, it helps improve your mental health as well.
Volunteer Opportunities at the Jersey Shore
Crafting for Kids
Hundreds of kids visit the JFS Food Pantry each week. Now that schools are shut down, help keep them busy by creating craft kits they can take with them from the pantry. Coloring books and crayons or colored pencils are fantastic. But how about a construction paper bouquet of flowers? Or popsicle stick airplanes? Or tin can windsocks (recycle your aluminum cans using paint and old ribbon)? Let’s see how creative you can be with your kits! Just bag them up and drop them off at any JFS office.
Cards and Letters for Seniors
Our elderly population tends to be the most vulnerable to COVID-19. Unfortunately, with social distancing in place, going to see grandma or grandpa in the senior living facilities has been put on hold for now. Show our elders love by creating cards or writing letters and sharing stories and photos. You might pick up a great pen-pal along the way. And image the stories these men and women have to share! Drop them off at the JFS offices. They will distribute them to homebound or nursing home residents for you.
Food Donations and Pick-Up
The JFS Food Pantry need donations of non-perishable food items to stock their shelves. Drop-off sites include Ventnor City Hall, Linwood City Hall and the Pleasantville Police Station. Volunteers then pick up from these locations and bring them to the Margate JFS. They need peanut butter, grape jelly, canned tuna, dry pasta, stew, canned ravioli, soup, canned fruit and vegetables, and cereal most of all. If you would like to volunteer to help with pickup from the donation sites, please contact Vanessa Smith at (609) 822-1108 ext 249 or shoot her an email. Anything you can do to make sure Jersey Shore families have food to serve at the dinner table would be greatly appreciated.
Start Your Own Collection Effort
Finally, start volunteer opportunities of your own by collecting canned goods, gently used clothing, baby clothes, diapers, baby wipes, board games, and craft ideas from your friends and neighbors. Now that spring’s underway, it’s a great time for everyone to go through their closets and get rid of items they don’t use/wear anymore but are too nice to throw in the garbage. Have them place these items in boxes or bags and leave them either on their front stoop or curbside at a pre-determined time for you to pick up. Then, bring these to a JFS office near you so that they can distribute them to those people who need them most.
How We Celebrate Passover During a Pandemic
As you know, Passover began Wednesday evening (April 8th). Typically, this means gathering with friends and family for seder among other things. But with the COVID-19 pandemic right now, we have to change how we celebrate our history. Luckily, current technology works to our advantage during this time. Facetiming. Skyping. Zoom meetings. All of this helps us interact in ways we couldn’t have just a few years ago. While this might have been a no-no during normal Passover times, rabbis are allowing a slight bending of the rules this year. Check-in with your rabbi to see how they feel you can embrace the spirit of Passover but in a responsible social distancing way.
Latest COVID-19 Mandates for New Jersey
Earlier this week, Governor Murphy extended his public health emergency declaration into early May. That may change as the time gets closer. If we all do our part to stay at home as much as possible, wash our hands frequently, wear masks in public, and sanitize our homes often, the stay at home order may be lifted. But that is if we all do our part to flatten the curve. For a complete transcript of exactly what Governor Murphy said about what New Jersey residents need to during our state of emergency on April 7th, please visit the NJ Governor’s website here.
Sherri Lilienfeld, Apex Prime Realty, Your Source for Jersey Shore Real Estate