MITZVAH DAY CHEERS L.A. EVENT CELEBRATES STRENGTHENING THE COMMUNITY BY GIVING.Byline: Heesun Wee Daily News Staff Writer After planting a tree at Lake Balboa Park Balboa Park is the name of several municipal parks, including the following:
Then with voices young and old, they sang a traditional Jewish song to bless the plant's new home. ``We're thanking God for being able to be here for this kind of day,'' Rik Vig explained. The Vigs' planting and impromptu A Windows query and reporting tool from Cognos with support for a large variety of databases. It is capable of generating cross tabs for spreadsheets such as Excel, Lotus for Windows and Quattro Pro for Windows. ceremony were part of Mitzvah Day '97, a far-reaching community event focused on volunteerism vol·un·teer·ism n. Use of or reliance on volunteers, especially to perform social or educational work in communities. volunteerism . As part of the special day, an estimated 3,000 people, many Jews Jews [from Judah], traditionally, descendants of Judah, the fourth son of Jacob, whose tribe, with that of his half brother Benjamin, made up the kingdom of Judah; historically, members of the worldwide community of adherents to Judaism. , participated in 100 projects in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. and Ventura counties, including the planting of trees at the favorite Van Nuys park. ``Mitzvah'' means giving or good deed in Hebrew. Candice Stein, chair of this year's Mitzvah Day, said the event is a natural outgrowth of Jewish philosophy Jewish philosophy Any of various kinds of reflective thought engaged in by those identified as being Jews. In the Middle Ages, this meant any methodical and disciplined thought pursued by Jews, whether on specifically Judaic themes or not; in modern times, philosophers who that stresses the restoring or repairing of the world. ``We need to give back to charity, whether on a small or large scale. And it's a learning tool for children,'' she said. The Jewish Federation/Valley Alliance organized the first Mitzvah Day in 1995. About 37 Valley synagogues A list of synagogues around the world. Contents: Top - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A
The Vigs and many other families said it was especially important to encourage their children to participate. ``It's our duty to show them as parents and they emulate the things we do,'' Rik Vig said. Len Messinger of Northridge brought his two boys to the park. ``If they sit in front of a TV, they're not going to learn about volunteerism,'' Messinger said. His sons seemed to be listening. ``It feels good helping the environment,'' said Steven Messinger, 9, who grasped a shovel handle and took a breather from breaking up the firmly packed earth. ``And we're giving animals a new home,'' said Mathew Messinger, 11. ``We'll be able to drive by and see this tree,'' Len Messinger added. Aside from promoting community pride and good values, the trees will serve important ecological roles, said Jen Scott-Lifland of the Beverly Hills-based TreePeople organization. With too much rainfall, the park's grounds become a flood plain. But the new trees will be able to capture moisture in their roots and leaves. ``It's a lot less moving water and 100 trees is a good place to start,'' she said. About 300 people planted trees in three different groves at the Balboa Balboa, town (1990 pop. 2,751), Colón prov., in the former Panama Canal Zone, on the Gulf of Panama. The port for Panama City, Balboa was the administrative headquarters of the Panama Canal Zone. It was also the site of a U.S. navy base (closed 1999). Boulevard park. Fifty of the trees - pines, oaks and sycamores - were donated by TreePeople. Families purchased the remaining 50 trees. Most of the trees measured 15 gallons each and required a hole 2 feet deep and 1-1/2 feet wide. For some armed with shovels, the firm earth proved too tough for shovels and their might. That's when TreePeople volunteers stepped in and speared the stubborn stubborn Vox populi → medtalk Refractory; unresponsive to therapy earth with breaker bars A breaker bar is a long non-ratcheting bar that is used with socket wrench style sockets. Breaker bars are often used to free stuck bolts and nuts. The additional length of a breaker bar allows the same amount of applied force to generate significantly more torque than a standard . After the hard work, many families named the trees they planted. Laura Vig, 12, said she decided on the name ``Snowball'' because the tree represents the winter holiday season. ``Welcome `Snowball snowball: see honeysuckle. !' '' the Vig family cheered, their clasped hands held high above their heads. In another grove, the Fullmans and Munds, both of Encino, and the Weitz family of Woodland Hills, collectively planted two trees with the help of their children. They named their trees ``Bark Mitzvah'' and ``Woody.'' In addition to planting, there were other community events for those in need throughout the Valley. Volunteers painted and repaired an independent living center for disabled adults in Van Nuys. They organized fun activities for children with cancer and AIDS in Los Angeles. They fixed wheelchairs and walkers for children in West Hills. ``Hopefully we inspire them (volunteers) to do something throughout the year,'' Stein said. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1) Shayna Leeds, 4, helps her mother, Julie, decorate one of 300 photo albums to be given to foster children as part of Mitzvah Day. Evan Yee/Daily News (2) Don Salper settles the soil around a tree he planted Sunday at Lake Balboa Park. Evan Yee/Daily News |
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