Jewish preschoolers throughout the Bay Area are about to help bring Hanukkah cheer to those less fortunate through the holiday gift drive known as the Fifth Night Project.
The project aims to teach children the Jewish value of tzedakah (giving with intention) by forgoing their own gift on the fifth night of Hanukkah to provide one for a child in need.
The S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund, PJ Library, Parents Place and 17 Bay Area Jewish preschools are hosting the project.
Collection bins will be placed at participating preschools from Dec. 8 to 18.
In addition, classroom and take-home activities will help make the project and Hanukkah more meaningful for preschoolers and their families.
“Children learn best through action,” said Vivien Braly, PJ Library coordinator for the San Francisco area. “The Fifth Night project starts with a week of creativity in the classroom with storytelling, art and learning about tzedakah, and culminates in the gift collection. Preschoolers feel good about giving to others, and it makes the lessons in the classroom come to life.”
The project “is a great opportunity for preschool-age children to learn about the needs of others and provides them with a concrete experience to actualize” the value of tzedakah, added Adam Lowy, a teacher and Jewish resource specialist at Congregation Emanu-El Preschool in San Francisco. “The idea of giving righteously becomes a part of their identity and has the power to last a lifetime.”
The gifts will be donated to Parents Place, a program of Jewish Family and Children’s Services, which serves San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Marin and Sonoma counties.
PJ Library provides free Jewish-themed children’s books to homes across North America. Programs in the Silicon Valley and San Francisco regions recently received funds for expansion to serve older children as well.
Suggested gifts for the Fifth Night Project include educational toys, games, books, and school and art supplies. Gifts should not be wrapped.
Launched in 2011, the Fifth Night Project has collected more than 2,000 gifts for distribution.
Collection bins will be placed at the following preschools:
Brotherhood Way Preschool, San Francisco
Chai Preschool, Foster City
Congregation Beth Ami, Santa Rosa
Congregation Beth Jacob, Redwood City
Congregation Beth Sholom, San Francisco
Congregation Emanu-El, San Francisco
Congregation Sherith Israel, San Francisco
Gan Israel, San Rafael
Gan Noe, San Francisco
Ganon Early Childhood Education Center, San Mateo
Helen Diller Family Preschool, San Francisco
Leslie Family ECE Center, Palo Alto
Osher Marin JCC ECE Preschool, San Rafael
Osher Marin JCC ECE Preschool, Tiburon
Oshman Family JCC T’enna Preschool at Beth Am, Los Altos Hills
Peninsula Temple Sholom, Burlingame
Rosenberg ECE Center, San Francisco