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Members of Congregation Beth Am delivered nearly 400 Seder Sacks to recipients on the Peninsula. More than a quarter went to Lytton Gardens in Palo Alto, low-income senior housing with a large population of elderly refugees from the former Soviet Union.

Carol Malnick, co-chair of the congregation's social action committee, helped deliver bags to about 40 Jewish seniors at Sterling Court in San Mateo.

"What impresses me so much is the response of the kids that were with us, and the response the seniors had to the kids," she said. "Neither gets enough exposure to the other."

She described the enthusiasm of 10-year-old Alex Leanse.

"He'd knock on the door, talk to the senior, bring in the bags…unpack their bag for them and show them what was inside."

The elderly recipients were so charmed by Alex and the 30 or so other children who helped make up the 17 families accompanying Malnick that "they'd hardly let go," Malnick said. When it was time to leave each senior, she'd say, "We've got to go. You can't keep the kid, too.

"It made me all the more aware of the tremendous need we have as community to stay connected and become better connected," added Malnick.

In Marin, 160 packages filled with matzah, gefilte fish, grape juice and macaroons were delivered to 28 retirement residences. More than 100 volunteers participated in the project, including students at Brandeis Hillel Day School, who decorated the bags. Jewish Women International, Congregation Rodef Sholom Sisterhood and the Early Childhood Education Center at the Marin Jewish Community Center all contributed to the JFCS Passover drive in Marin County.

Eighth-graders from Brandeis Hillel filled 400 Seder Sacks, which were delivered by members of the Simcha young adult group from Congregation Sherith Israel and the young adult group from Congregation Sha'ar Zahav, both in San Francisco.

Sonoma County volunteers also distributed Seder Sacks to nearly 130 individuals.

JFCS also coordinated a seder for 30 residents of Laguna Honda Hospital with the help of volunteers from Diller Foundation Youth.

JFCS' Holocaust survivors' group, Cafe by the Bay, held a seder Thursday of last week.

The annual Tenderloin Passover seder luncheon took place yesterday at Sherith Israel.