Little Mensches Events
Making the World Better, One Mitzvah at a Time
Approximately once per month, typically on a Sunday at 1:00 pm, Little Mensches organizes a fun and engaging opportunity for children to give back to their community in some way. All activities are hands-on for the children, and most events last approximately one hour. While the target audience for participating children are ages 4 - 8, we also encourage the participation of older children who may want to act as “helpers”.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world. Sasha and Aimee will be there!"
Upcoming Events
Please mark your calendars for our next event, which will take place on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018 from 1:00-2:00 at the JCC, and which will benefit Rady Children's Hospital. We hope to see you there! Please RSVP to LittleMensches@lfjcc.org.
As always, we welcome the participation of any older (ages 9+) children who might want to act as "helpers" at the event.
For those who want to continue the mitzvah-making, we wanted to alert you to a wonderful opportunity that was brought to us by Asher Bernstein and his family. (Asher and his brother Micah are longstanding Little Mensches and were featured in the Little Mensches documentary that was produced last year.) Asher and his family are in their third year raising money for the St. Baldrick's Foundation, which is the largest non-government funder of childhood cancer research grants. Asher's brother Micah has twice been treated with a drug whose development was funded by St. Baldrick's, and he has participated in a trial that also was funded by this organization. If you wish to join Asher and his family inter efforts to raise funds for this organization, you may do so at this link: St. Baldricks). (All donations are tax deductible.)
Previous Events
Sunday, January 8, 2017
Many thanks to those of you who joined us today for a fantastic event with the Challenged Athletes Foundation. We feel so fortunate to have been able to hear from and meet Tara and the other youth athletes who were present today, and all of the children seemed to learn a lot about how to understand the variety of physical and other challenges that many in our community might face. We will be posting the pictures from today's event on our Shutterfly Share site soon!
For any families who wish to continue their learning, CAF has offered to host tours of their amazing facility to anyone who are interested. (I participated in a tour last year and it was fascinating to see the incredible steps that this amazing organization takes to help those in need.) Please let us know if you are interested in a tour (via an email to this address) and we will put you in touch with the appropriate staff members at CAF.
Sunday, November 20, 2016
Many thanks to everyone who joined us for a fantastic beach and park clean up in La Jolla Shores today. The weather cooperated, and we collected over 52 pounds of trash! We will have pictures from today's event posted on our Shutterfly Share site (and our Little Mensches website) soon. Rumor has it we also were featured on KUSI's evening news this evening.
Stats: 56 participants from Little Mensches removed 52.5 pounds of trash from the beach at La Jolla Shores, including 20 plastic bags, 126 plastic bottle caps, 44 lids/cups/straws, 70 plastic food wrappers, 152 cigarette butts, 92 pieces of styrofoam, 6 balloons, 370 "other plastics," 25 aluminum cans, and 155 pieces of paper. Unusual items included a boogie board and glow sticks.
A story about our work appeared in SDNews.com: Click Here
Pictures from the event are on our Shutterfly site: Click Here
Sunday, October 23, 2016
Thanks to everyone who joined us for a fantastic event with Seacrest Village yesterday. The kids had a great time making crafts for the seniors from Seacrest Village (and for some of their own grandparents), and the sing-a-long and Bingo tournament were a blast.
Sunday, September 18, 2016
Many thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate Little Mensches 2-year anniversary yesterday. We put together over 200 necessity kits for the homeless, while the children also enjoyed crafts, face painting and music. Pictures from the event are on our Shutterfly site: Click Here
Sunday, August 28, 2016
Many thanks to all of the participants, parents and "big kid helpers" who came out today to pack school supply kits for children at the San Diego Rescue Mission. We packed 120 backpacks full of much needed supplies that are sure to bring smiles to many faces in the days and weeks to come. Pictures from the event are on our Shutterfly site: Click Here
Sunday, June 23, 2016
Many thanks to everyone who joined us today for a great Little Mensches event with the Rancho Coastal Humane Society. The kids had a great time learning about how to help animals in the community, and they were able to make dog and cat toys for the animal shelter, bag dog and cat food for distribution by the shelter, and had an opportunity to play with some therapy dogs.
Click here to see fun photos from this event.
Sunday, May 22, 2016
Thanks for joining us when our Little Mensches had the opportunity to give back to our local police and fire departments.
We had some local police officers and firefighters come to the JCC to speak to the children about how to show support for the local police and fire departments, as well as about such important topics as "stranger danger," fire safety plans, stop-drop-and-roll, etc. In addition, the children decorated cookies and made thank you projects for these community helpers. We wrapped up with a chance for the children to explore a real police car and fire truck in the JCC parking lot.
Click here to see great photos from this event.
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Thanks to everyone who came out to support our U.S. Military and the Israeli Defense Force. The children loved hearing from the soldiers about their experiences in the military, as well as from a Little Mensch whose own father is deployed. They also did a great job writing letters to the troops and participating in the boot camp.
Click here to see amazing photos from this event.
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Little Mensches event benefiting Rady Children's Hospital. We put together 150 activity bags for children in the hospital, along with many "get well" frames, handmade cards, and an amazing pair of "get well" banners. Many thanks to our videographer, Joel Ehrlich (The Video Fellow), for gathering the footage for our video card, which we will circulate when it is completed
Click here to see adorable photos from this event.
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Thank you to everyone who joined us for a fantastic event with the Challenged Athletes Foundation. The children heard from an inspirational CAF speaker and then participated in various stations designed to teach them about what it is like to live with various types of physical impairments.
Click here to see amazing photos from this event.
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Thank you to all who joined us yesterday for a fantastic event celebrating Thanksgiving with residents of Seacrest Village (the retirement community), as well as residents of other local retirement communities and of course lots of Little Mensches grandparents and great-grandparents. The children made beautiful Thanksgiving cards and decorations for the senior citizens, and we had a great time holding a sing-a-long and Bingo game with them.
Please know how grateful many of these senior citizens were for your children's time and energy. Several commented on how wonderful it was to be surrounded by so many children. Please congratulate your children on their very good deeds. If you have any questions please email Littlemensches@lfjcc.org
Click here to see wonderful photos from this event.
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Thank you to everyone who came out to assist with our beach and park clean up in La Jolla Shores. We are thrilled to report that our Little Mensches picked up over 35 pounds of trash from the beach and park area. A special thank you to San Diego Coastkeeper for helping us to hold such a fun, safe, and educational event.
Here is a link to some pictures from the event: Photos
We were thrilled to celebrate the ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of Little Mensches this month!
Children put together "necessity kits" for the homeless containing items such as socks, granola bars, antibacterial wipes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, as well as cards containing information about where to get services in the area (homeless shelters, domestic violence hotlines, etc.). This event was a tremendous hit! We also had crafts for the children to do at the event, along with music, food, storytelling, and lots of celebration for a year's worth of good deeds.
While our events are targeted toward children between the ages of 4 and 8, we welcome children of all ages, and particularly enjoy having older children (ages 9 and up) acting as "helpers" at our events.
Click here to see fantastic photos from this event.
Sunday, August 9, 2015
Many thanks to everyone who participated in our Little Mensches event today. We are so proud to have put together 142 school supply kits, all of which will be dropped off at the San Diego Rescue Mission tomorrow for distribution both there and at the Monarch School. A special thank you to Deborah Krakauer from the San Diego Rescue Mission for coming by to speak to us today, and to all of our "Big Mensch" helper kids for pitching in.
Click here to see LOTS of the photos from this event.
Sunday, June 28, 2015
On Sunday 6/28 from 1:00-2:00 at the JCC, our Little Mensches learned about the importance of caring for animals. We were joined by a representative from the Rancho Coastal Humane Society, who spoke to the children about caring for animals in the community. The children were able to play with some therapy dogs from the shelter, had an opportunity to make some (no-sew) dog and cat toys to be donated to the animal shelter, and also had a chance to help to bag dog and cat food that the shelter will distribute.
Click
here to see some of the photos from this event.
Sunday, May 31, 2015
On Sunday, May 31 held an event to give our children an opportunity to give back to the local police and fire departments. Some police officers and firefighters came to speak to the children. They spoke about how to show support for the local police and fire departments and about such important topics as "stranger danger," fire safety plans, stop-drop-and-roll, etc. After the presentation by our police officers and firefighters, the children had an opportunity to decorate cookies for these community helpers. We then divided up and walked over to the local police station and fire station (both of which are right next door to the JCC) to deliver to the cookies and get tours of the police and fire stations.
Click here to see some of the photos from this event.
Sunday, April 19, 2015
On Sunday, April 19, Little Mensches held an event to support both the US military and the Israeli Defense Force. Participating children heard from soldiers about the importance of supporting our troops. We owe a huge debt of thanks to the soldiers who spoke to the children - Al from the U.S. Marine Corp., Jeremy from the Navy, and Orly and On from the Israeli Defense Force. The children also enjoyed writing letters to the troops, making Israeli flags and American flag pinwheels, and they had a blast participating in a mock "boot camp." As a very special surprise, we were privileged to have a visit from the 82nd Airborne Division Color Guard.
Click here to see some of the photos from this event.
Sunday, March 15, 2015
On Sunday, March 15, 2015, Little Mensches visited the Hand Up Youth Food Pantry, where they packed over 400 bags of food, put together 100 parenting kits, and helped to stock the food pantry's shelves. Participating children also made tzedakah boxes to bring home so that they could continue their mitzvah-making after the event.
Click here to see some of the photos from this event.
February, 2015
February 2015, Little Mensches partnered with Rady Children’s Hospital to make activity bags for children receiving care at the hospital. Participating children packed bags with markers, activity books, puzzles, games and other activities, and also made their own pictures and cards to include in the activity bags. The children also created a “video card” that was delivered to the hospital, to be shown to children receiving care there.
Watch a Video about This Event
Click here to see some of the photos from this event.
January, 2015
On January 11, 2015, Little Mensches partnered with Friendship Circle of San Diego, an organization that enriches the lives of children, teens and adults with special needs through social and recreational experiences. The program included a short lesson from a Friendship Circle staff member, educating the children about some of the limitations that other children might face, followed by a fun “field day” during which Little Mensches and Friendship Circle children were able to participate together in a variety of games and activities.
Click here to see some of the photos from this event.
November, 2014
In November 2014, Little Mensches collaborated with San Diego Coastkeeper to conduct a clean up of the beach and park area at La Jolla Shores. Participating children received a lesson on the importance of a clean environment from a Coastkeeper staff member, and then spent some time cleaning up this beautiful part of the San Diego coast.
Click here to see some of the photos from this event.
October, 2014
On October 5, 2014, Little Mensches helped the residents of Seacrest Village, the retirement community, to celebrate Sukkot. Participating children made Sukkot cards and decorations for the Seacrest residents, who were thrilled to take these projects back to their facility. The children then had a wonderful Sukkot sing-a-long and story time with the residents.
Click here to see some of the photos from this event.
September, 2014
On September 7, 2014, Little Mensches created "mitzvah bags" for homeless and other needy individuals in the community. Participating children filled large ziplock bags with toothbrushes, toothpastes, socks, granola bars, antibacterial wipes, as well as cards containing information about where to get services in the area (homeless shelters, domestic violence hotlines, etc.) Families either could take the bags with them to hand out to those in need, or could leave the bags for them to be distributed by others.
Click here to see some of the photos from this event.
See Little Mensches in Action