Tikkun Olan Project

On MLK Sunday we took 85 students to Gateway180, the largest emergency shelter in Missouri. It was an amazing day on so many levels. Our day school and religious school students joined together to participate in this Tikkun Olam project. As we were leaving for the morning, Andy Schwebel reminded us how important it is for us to be engaged in this work, especially on Martin Luther King weekend, because we are commanded by our Jewish tradition to help others whenever we can. At the shelter we learned that the average age of a homeless person in St Louis is nine and we discuss what it might feel like for the 60+ children in the shelter to be picked up each morning by the school bus while standing in front of a sign reading homeless shelter. Gateway180 allows women and children to stay for up to 30 days, their goal being to help these families do a

180 degree turn and get them back into a home. While we were there our students painted the dining room, packed 100 lunches, cleaned up the food pantry and played with the kids in staying at Gateway180. It was a great morning of service. My favorite part was watching our kids play with the children there. Some of our older students took younger children under their wing while our 5^thth graders to play with on the playgroup and teach each other games they could all play. At the end of the morning, when the 7^th & 8^th grade boys thanked me for taking them as they walked off the bus, I knew that we ha graders simply found other 5d done an amazing thing this morning for everyone involved.