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Friday December 14, 2007

Shorts: Bay Area

Coffee tips to help JFCS Dream House

A pair of Peet’s Coffee shops in San Francisco will hand out free coffee, with all tips going to the Jewish Family and Children’s Services Chosen Dream House, which serves women and children transitioning out of homelessness.

On Thursday, Dec. 20, the Peet’s at First and Howard will pour free java from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m., with tips going to the Chosen Dream House.

And on Dec. 21, the Peet’s at One California will do the same. Every $100 donated will provide a needy mother and her children with three days of shelter and services.

Brandeis Hillel band to play S.F. City Hall

Brandeis Hillel Day School’s 40-seat concert band will play the noon hour under San Francisco City Hall’s rotunda on Monday, Dec. 17.

The fourth- through eighth-grade ensemble will play Chanukah and klezmer music with flutes, clarinets, saxophones, trumpets, baritone horns, trombones, an electric bass, percussion instruments and a xylophone.

The band is directed by Karen Segal and Daniel Meyer O’Keefe will also be along to sing and play the guitar.

Your design here: Create a postcard for Israel tourism

American children can help promote Israel’s 60th anniversary by designing an image that the Ministry of Tourism can use to invite people to Israel during its 60th birthday year. The winning entry will be made into a postcard that will be distributed throughout the United States.

The design can be serious or funny, but it must be original. Children are asked to think about the qualities of Israel, what it means for the country to be 60 years old and why people should visit Israel. The design should be on a 6-by-9-inch card (vertical or horizontal) of plain white paper. Contestants can use crayon, ink, markers, paint, pastel, paper, paste-on items, cloth or any other hand-applied media.

This contest is open to students in grades four through seven. Entries must be received by Feb. 8. For more information, the official entry form and rules and regulations, visit www.babaganewz.com/thebigdraw.

Let your fingers do the giving

One-stop travel site search engine YELLOWPAGES.travel has added a charitable contribution page to its Web site, and will include several Jewish oriented charities for users to select as options. The site will donate 15 percent of its net profits to charity year-round.

Jewish charities targeted by the site include the Israeli Defense Fund, the Simon Weisenthal Center and the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles. Non-Jewish charities such as the American Red Cross are also featured. Visitors to the site can select their preferred charity.

For more information, visit www.yellowpages.travel/charity.

Shalom Bayit lauded for interfaith efforts

Shalom Bayit, the Bay Area’s only Jewish organization dedicated to preventing domestic abuse, was recently rewarded twice for its interfaith efforts.

At the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast on Nov. 20, the San Francisco Interfaith Council recognized Shalom Bayit for doing exceptional work training clergy on domestic violence. In addition, the Walter and Elise Haas Fund also recently awarded Shalom Bayit an $18,000 grant for its interfaith efforts.

Don’t just eat it, write about it

The Orthodox Union’s Kosher Essay Contest is accepting entries from students in grades four through 12.

Suggested essays include describing your favorite OU-certified food or drink; discussing how eating kosher makes you feel better about being Jewish; writing a letter to a nonobservant friend about keeping kosher; and explaining the kosher experience of walking the supermarket aisle. Applicants can also make up a topic.

Essays should range from 250 to 500 words for students in fourth, fifth and sixth grades. Middle- and high school students should submit essays of 1,000 words. The submission deadline is March 7.

Winners will receive a $50 gift certificate from Eichlers.com, a Judaica Web site. Winners will also have their essays published online at www.oukosher.org. Grand prize winners will be invited to record their essays on OU Kosher Radio.

For more information, contact Rabbi Eliyahu Safran at safrane@ou.org.

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