A Hanukkah party for 8 good causes

Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corp. MaxMan shares with youngsters the importance of recycling and waste management.

PROVIDENCE – The Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island held its second annual Hanukkah party at the Dwares JCC, on Providence’s East Side, on Dec. 9. The event, named Mitzvahs & Miracles, was a party in the conventional sense, with food, activities and music, but it was also a night focused on giving back to the community.

The co-chairs of this evening of community and good will? Twelve-year-olds Reese Sock and Annabelle Doyle.

“We wanted to help the other people in our community,” Annabelle explains. “[We wanted to] have the community be together and do mitzvahs for people who are less fortunate.”

Reese and Annabelle, who are alumni of the day school, took key roles in organizing Mitzvahs & Miracles as their b’nai mitzvah projects. This year’s party differed from last year’s in that last year’s co-chairs were adults; Reese and Annabelle are the first alumni to take on the role of co-chairs, and the hope is that future co-chairs will also be alumni.

Annabelle had been planning to send backpacks full of necessities to children going into foster care when Reese approached her and asked if she wanted to collaborate on Mitzvahs & Miracles. Annabelle did, and the duo got to work. Stuffing the backpacks and decorating them with inspirational tags was incorporated into the list of eight charitable activities that were available at the party.

You can probably make a good guess as to why there were eight activities at a Hanukkah party, but the idea’s roots are actually in a Sock family tradition.

“We would do eight mitzvahs for Hanukkah,” in addition to receiving gifts, Reese said, “so that’s where the idea came from.”

Sharon Sock, a member of the day school’s Parent Association and Reese’s mother, elaborated: “We would do different charitable [deeds], and we said ‘Hey! That would be a great idea for a Hanukkah party!’ “

So there you have it: eight charitable activities for eight nights of Hanukkah.

Along with getting in touch with charities, the duo participated in weekly meetings and played key roles in generating ideas for new mitzvahs. While some of the activities and mitzvahs were part of last year’s party, there were also new ones this year, including beautifully decorating 200 cookies for Emmanuel House and writing 100 notes of appreciation for teachers. 

Activities took place at rectangular tables situated around the perimeter of the social hall at the JCC, where representatives of the charities sat, waiting to greet partygoers and help with mitzvahs organized by Annabelle and Reese. Within minutes, the gym was alive with conversation, laughter, and, well, mitzvahs!

Knitting hats, making toys and other mitzvahs created a warm, fun-filled environment.

According to Annabelle, more people participated in the mitzvahs this year, which she was understandably happy about.

“There are more people at the stations this year; it’s like, wow, it’s working!” she said excitedly.

When asked about the process of planning the party, both Reese and Annabelle brought up the importance of teamwork.

“The process is hard; it takes a lot of people and you can’t do it by yourself. But it feels really good when it all comes together,” Reese said.

“I’m really glad Reese asked me to do this, I would never have done this on my own,” Annabelle said.

Annabelle and Reese were supervised by the day school’s Parent Association and worked with its members as well as its co-sponsor, the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, to plan the party. The two sat in on meetings, balanced school/extracurricular schedules, and helped with the creation of action plans for making the party a reality.

During the evening, the partygoers, some decorated with glitter tattoos, learned about recycling and waste management from MaxMan, R.I. Resource Recovery’s walking, talking water bottle mascot. About halfway through the evening, with arms a-glitter and tummies full, the partygoers settled down as storyteller Mark Binder took the stage. Later on, a capella group Pastrami on RI performed, with the audience joining in for the grand finale.

As the party wound down, Annabelle and Reese took their places on stage to thank everyone for coming and for their help with the mitzvahs.

“You’ve really helped … a lot!” Annabelle exclaimed.

 Asked whether they would do this again, Annabelle summed up the duo’s feelings succinctly:

“I would do it again ... but maybe not next week.”

ARIEL BROTHMAN is a freelance writer who lives in Wrentham, Mass.