Jewish school students make lunches for Lazarus House guests

Fox Valley Jewish School is helping the homeless in our community, learning more about what it means to volunteer, and having fun, too.

During each school year, FVJS students learn about and engage in community service. This year they are helping the guests at Lazarus House in St. Charles, a shelter for people in need in the Tri-Cities.

Recently, on Sunday, Dec. 7, students made 15 sack lunches - just a portion of what's needed, as requested by Lazarus House. FVJS parent Laura Steele delivered the lunches to Lazarus House that day, and adult guests of Lazarus took the lunches to work the next day.

"The pre-K through grade two kids decorated paper lunch sacks with stickers and drawings and then filled each of them with a hearty meat and cheese sandwich, an apple, a can of seltzer water, a small bag of cheese popcorn," said FVJS parent and project coordinator Amanda Littauer, who also added three chocolate chip cookies to each lunch.

In addition to the lunches, students made table decorations for the shelter's upcoming Christmas meal.

"All of the kids went outside on a walk to collect twigs and other natural items for use in the holiday centerpieces," Littauer said. "The grade three and up kids made centerpieces from cinnamon-scented pine cones, the natural items that the kids collected, and various craft materials, including pompoms, ribbon, stickers, pipe cleaners, etc."

Students at Fox Valley Jewish School focus on helping a different local nonprofit, each year. In past years, they have worked with Field of Dreams in Batavia, and the Fox Valley Wildlife Center in Elburn.

About the school

Fox Valley Jewish Neighbors offers this Jewish education Sunday school program right in the heart of Geneva. Classes are held two Sundays a month, September through May, for children beginning at age 3 through eighth grade.

FVJS welcomes children from Jewish and interfaith families, with no formal religious education, Jewish knowledge or background, as well as those who previously attended Jewish religious education programs at synagogues. The FVJS program provides a general Jewish education and does not adhere to any one particular branch of Judaism.

New students are always welcome. For details on the school or FVJN, visit www.fvjn.org/, or email info@fvjn.org.