Thanksgiving Opportunities

Free Senior Meals Program: Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Riverdale Y has been an essential supplier of more than 85,000 free, hot kosher meals and essential staples to more than 200 seniors in our community thanks to the help of a strong core of volunteers and donors. This program is now funded exclusively by the Y, and we need to raise an additional $50,000 to ensure these seniors continue to receive a hot meal everyday through the end of 2020. To donate, please go to www.RiverdaleY.org/seniormeals. To volunteer to help package and deliver meals at the Riverdale Y, please contact volunteers@riverdaley.org.

Turkey Trot: Join us anytime between Sunday, November 22 – Sunday, November 29 for our Turkey Trot! 100% of proceeds from the Riverdale Y Turkey Trot go towards our Free Senior Meals Program (see above for details). For more information, or to sign up, please visit www.RiverdaleY.org/turkeytrot.

Third Annual Thanksgiving Drive: Please join CSAIR and Creston Avenue Baptist Church in our Third Annual Thanksgiving Drive feeding hundreds of people in our community Thanksgiving Dinner. In past years we have made pies together and volunteered at the church. As we all know this year is different. This year we are hoping to raise $1800 which will cover 30 cooked turkeys, 30 pies, 400 water bottles, and 450 take-out containers.  Please consider donating whatever you can! Every dollar counts! Credit Card (preferred).

Project H.O.P.E. Chanukah Distribution: On Sunday December 6 from 9:00am -11:30am, join BJCC and share the joy of the holidays by bringing along friends and family to deliver 3-5 Chanukah packages to lonely, home-bound or needy Jewish elderly! We are looking for volunteers* to come to 2157 Holland Ave, Bronx, NY 10462 and/or 95 Gale Place (Community Room #9), Bronx, NY 10463. Packages will be delivered safely, while following social distance guidelines.

In order to volunteer you must either call or email Niti Minkove to sign up at (917) 693-3084 or nminkove@bjcconline.org. Whether or not you are able to come, you can always help by sponsoring a package for only $25.

Cards for Thanksgiving Meals: Hello! My name is Ellie Engel and I am a 7th grader in the CSAIR Hebrew School. As part of my Bat Mitzvah project, I am helping with the CSAIR and Creston Avenue Baptist Church Thanksgiving Drive. To go with each Thanksgiving meal, we would like to add a personal touch. We are asking the CSAIR community to print out this card and write a short note or draw a picture on the space provided. You can write something like “May you enjoy the warmth of community this season” or have a child draw a picture. Please be sensitive to the recipient’s situation. Please place your cards in our drop-box at the CSAIR 250th St. entrance by Monday, Nov. 23rd. Our goal is to place a card in each Thanksgiving meal bag – that’s 400 cards– so please make as many as you can! Thank you for your help-Ellie Engel

Giving November: Riverdale Temple Nursery School has designated this month “Giving November”. One project supports the organization POTS (Part of the Solution), which helps people who are struggling to get them back on their feet and into a more stable situation.
Riverdale Temple Nursery School will be helping collect certain items they really need:

• Masks (disposable or reusable)
• Hand sanitizer
• New socks (especially men’s)
• Toothpaste
• Toothbrushes
• Bars of Soap
• PB & Jelly
• Soup (canned or box)

Please send in all donations by 11/23/20. In addition, monetary donations will be accepted to provide Thanksgiving meals (turkeys) for families. $30 provides a turkey/meal for a family of four. Donations can be sent via Venmo to cristin-messinger.

Thanksgiving 2020: Even with the pandemic, our community has so much to celebrate this Thanksgiving. Join HIR – The Bayit to make this Thanksgiving a time of community support and building social connections! Click here to find ways to volunteer, order food, and zoom in for the Thanksgiving Day Program.