Shoppers donate thousands of food items to homeless (From Times Series)

Golders Green shoppers donate thousands of food items to homeless

11:20am Tuesday 22nd November 2011 in Mitzvah Day By Natalie O'Neill

SHOPPERS in Golders Green have donated thousands of food items for the homeless this Mitzvah Day.

North Western Reform Synagogue teamed up with Shree Swaminarayan Temple and St Albans Church to collect food from customers at Sainsbury's in Golders Green Road and Finchley Road on Sunday.

The group was amongst thousands of volunteers taking part in Mitzvah Day, a Jewish-lead initiative which encourages people to give their time to charity and community projects.

Members of the synagogue in Alyth Gardens also hosted a bike workshop where they gave second-hand cycles to ten refugees living in Barnet. The team provided locks, lights and helmets and gave a lesson on cycling proficiency.

Sue Haskel, the synagogue’s Mitzvah Day coordinator, said: “We had a wonderful day. The pleasure our members got from helping others and reaching out into the community was obvious to see.”

Other good deeds involved planting mint in the synagogue garden, singing to people in care homes including the Lady Sarah Cohen House in Friern Barnet, making greetings cards with people from the Jewish special needs day school, Kisharon, in Temple Fortune and packing sweets and stationery for users of Barnet Refugee Service and the Barnardo’s Freeman Family Centre in Brent.