PHOTO GALLERY: Temple Beth Am Hosts Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service

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FRAMINGHAM – Temple Beth Am hosted a 3-hour Day of Service in honor of the late Martin Luther King Jr, Sunday afternoon, January 15.

The event was organized by Jewish Learning Opportunities for Teens – JLOFT. Families with young kids and teens were encouraged to participate in multiple activities during Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.

During the 3-hour event volunteers built desk for students without a place to study at home.

Volunteers created soups to be distributed at food pantries, and volunteers make banana breads and lasagnas for those in shelters.

“What a wonderful turnout. Jewish living is all about doing, right? It’s all about using our hands to make the world a better place. So thank you to each and every one of you for coming out today for saying on this weekend where we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and his legacy and who he was, that you want to use your hands to make this world a better place,” said Temple Beth Am Rabbi Sam Blumberg.

More than 100 people attended the event from Framingham, Natick, Southborough, Wayland, Sudbury, Needham, Newton, Brookline and other communities.

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“So good to see everybody in person,” said one of the organizers Barry Glass. “After last year’s 11th hour change from an in-person event to a kit-based event where everyone did their work at home — and it was an inspiration that everybody was willing to bake and make from home, bring it here, and then we distributed it to the community.”

“We have kept the kit part of the program this year for people who are more comfortable building and making things at home. So this is the great, wonderful in-person population, but we have about 45 to 50 other people at home making things. So it’s even a larger event than what you see here,” said Glass.

Families and individuals were given either a desk kit or a lasagna kit, in which they could make two mushroom vegetable lasagnas.

The lasagnas are going to four family shelters, including the South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC) shelter in Framingham. Some will go to the New Hope Domestic Violence Sanctuaries in Framingham, said Glass.

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Harmony Grove Elementary School in Framingham will be using our lasagnas and breads, distributing them as part of their food pantry to families, said Glass.

“Our soup jar – we’ll make about 70 of those. And our goal is 95 is 150 banana breads,” said Glass. “The Sudbury Community food pantry will distribute them to their members,” said Glass.

The desks are going to Stapleton Elementary School in Framingham for distribution,” said Glass.

In attendance today was District 3 School Committee member Jenn Moshe and School Committee Chair Priscila Sousa.

Rep. Sousa, who was recently sworn in as a new legislator said she wanted to find a way to give back on this Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.

Rep. Sousa was making vegetable lasagnas with a family from Brookline for more than an hour.

Some of the youngest volunteers made stars, that will be distributed to those who are sick, to cheer them up.

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