“Make it a day on not a day off” is Harvesters’ slogan. On January 19, 2015, their day of service commemorates Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Harvesters is a regional food bank that serves twenty-six counties in western Missouri and eastern Kansas. Harvesters provides food and household products to more than 620 nonprofit agencies, including community kitchens, homeless shelters, and others. They also provide educational programs to increase the awareness of hunger to people of all ages.They feed 97,150 children a year through their pantries, food kitchens and shelters. Harvesters’ mission is to “feed hungry people today and end world hunger tomorrow.”

This year was Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy’s (HBHA) sixth year participating in Harvester’s day of service. On this day, HBHA community members joined hundreds of people participating in the day of service. HBHA began this annual event to gather HBHA families together on a day off of school, putting the values that the students learn into action and making a difference in our community.

Sophomore Leah Sosland shared her thoughts on this day of service,  “It was nice to see so many people at Harvesters on their day off. It felt very important to be doing something for the community, especially on Martin Luther King Day.” This year, around seventy HBHA volunteers, including students from lower, middle, and upper school, along with parents and teachers, helped box different kinds of cereal, package frozen non-meat food, and reboxed apples.

Todd Clauer, high school principal and HBHA parent is “always impressed by the willingness of all HBHA students and parents to create a team atmosphere when we go to Harvesters.” Clauer added, “Everyone seems to understand the importance of our work there and tries… to contribute to the overall effort to alleviate hunger in our community.  I especially like to see students of all ages working side by side.” Volunteering at Harvesters is one of the many ways HBHA students demonstrate Tikkun Olam, helping to perfect the world.