This summer was not just for rest and relaxation, it was for meetings, planning and getting ready for the upcoming year.

In lieu of a formal meeting in July, members of our Board of Directors joined me for a brainstorming session. We discussed different ideas, including the Back to Shul Open House on August 27th (I hope you were able to attend or will be able to attend the next one), and cleaning and organizing the storage rooms.

If you came to services during the summer, you may have seen that we had many boxes with books and miscellaneous items spread out on multiple tables. We channeled Marie Kondo and spent time cleaning and reorganizing the storage rooms. We have more spaces to tackle, so if you LOVE to organize and would like to help, please contact me…immediately.

In mid-July we had a thunderstorm one Friday evening. Our playground is now missing a tree, which unfortunately fell on our neighbor’s building structure in their backyard. We are all grateful that no one was nearby when this storm occurred.

TBS was one of the partners for the Interfaith Service Day on August 6th. This event brought together different religious, non-religious and spiritual groups with the common goal of completing different community service projects. I went to the event with Michelle Murphy and her granddaughter. One of the projects we participated in was with Save the Sound. We took a shuttle bus with other volunteers to Long Wharf (near the food trucks). On the bus we introduced ourselves. One of the volunteers was Laurel from Spring Glen Church – our neighbors! I partnered with Laurel for the cleanup. We talked and picked up trash for nearly 2 hours. We filled two bags, which was equivalent to 35 lbs!

When we returned to the New Haven Green, we had lunch and found Lila Fain! Lila helped make meals at the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen (DESK). After lunch, Michelle and her granddaughter went to DESK and I stayed on the Green to put together 250 Blessing Bags/Street Kits for the homeless. In total, 875 Blessing Bags were made for different shelters/organizations. TBS was asked to deliver bags and on the following Monday, my mom and I drove 125 bags to Columbus House. They were extremely grateful. The Interfaith Service Day experience was wonderful, heartwarming, and I can’t wait until next year.

As summer comes to a close and Rosh Hashanah approaches, looking back at the past year I know that I will continue to make positive changes for the coming year for not only myself, but for our community.

Wishing you and your family a healthy, happy New Year.

L’Shanah Tovah,

Lauren Piscitelle, TBS President