Fwd: Berkeley Men's Shelter Report - February 2014

Congregation Netivot Shalom Men's Shelter Report  for  February 2014       Berkeley Men's Shelter   It was Super Bowl Sunday and Sochi Winter Olympics warm-up for much of the U.S.A. but for a special group of folks it was a haimish and lovely evening in the basement of the Berkeley Veteran's Building.  Of course, it started before Sunday.  Susi was going to be out of town so Dani stepped forward to develop the menu and coordinate the cooking with lots of prepatory input and guidance from Susi.  Art shopped for the fresh groceries.  Daniel ordered the staples from Costco.  Agnieszka and Ednah baked six lemon-cake loafs based upon Agnieszka's recipe lovingly translated from the Polish.  The main entrée was a delicious eggplant ragout served with brown rice, garlic bread, fresh fruit, green salad, lemon cake, iced tea.  Darek, Agnieszka, Billi, Yonit, Dani, Ezra peeled and chopped and chopped and chopped.  Shari and Steven and Joan arrived to help with the initial clean-up, then the serving and conversation with the sixty-three residents.  Doug arrived in time to help pack up the extra food for the day laborers on Fourth Street and at El Cerrito Home Depot.  Joan washed many, many pots and pans as well as serving the men with an especially caring and compassionate out look.  The team worked so well together that even though the preparation, serving, and clean-up felt leisurely we turned off the lights and pulled out of the parking lot by 7:45.  We'll be cooking again on Sunday, March 2.  The sign-up sheet is quite empty so there are lots of opportunities for folks new to this mitzvah as well as those who have served many times previously to sign-up.  Would you like to grocery shop?  We provide a list of the items needed and the shul reimburses for purchases.  Would you like to bake your favorite recipe for a very appreciative "audience"?  Would you like to help with preparation of the meal?  We gather at 5 PM and preparation takes about 90 minutes.  Would you prefer to serve and help clean-up?  Folks who like that "shift" arrive at 6:30 and work until about 8 PM.  Perhaps you could share some words of reflection on Rosh Chodesh Adar II?  Or might you be moved to donate monies towards paying for the supplies needed for the meal?  If you have other suggestions or questions about signing up please contact Ednah at edmal@aol.com.  If you're ready to boldly go where others have definitely gone before just go to http://tinyurl.com/cnsshelterdinnersignup.