An annual gift-giving event that supports children and families in Buffalo is being held this year at Temple Beth Zion in Buffalo. Along with that holiday event, they’re welcoming a special guest who brings children of various faiths together through music.
The annual gift giving event is led by the community outreach program None Like You/We Care. In search of a new venue after their previous site closed, None Like You/We Care was welcomed to host their annual gift giveaway at Temple Beth Zion, at 805 Delaware Avenue. In Buffalo.
Then, as Senior Rabbi Brent Gutmann explained, they learned of and booked another event, a visit by Dr. Harvey Price, founder of the Peace Drums Project, located in Haifa, Israel.
“They create these bands, these ensembles with Arab and Christian and Muslim and Jewish children playing steel drums, an instrument that doesn't belong to any of them. It's a Caribbean instrument, so none of them have ownership over the steel drums. They can all make music together and build these relationships,” he said.
Dr. Price will host an interactive demonstration of steel drums with local children and families prior to the gift event.
In addition to the sanctuary, Temple Beth Zion hosts the Jewish Museum of Buffalo. The hosts hope that visitors will spend some time observing the exhibits and learning more about the Jewish contributions to Western New York.
“We thought it's this incredible opportunity to partner with these other nonprofits to really educate our community about us,” said the museum’s director, Jill Abromowitz Gutmann. “So, we're going to be having a dreidel making station, and we're going to be having a place where we do workshops.”
And there will be a hot meal, and a visit from Santa Claus. Temple Beth Zion is asking people to contribute clothing, blankets, toys, and other items that could be distributed to None Like You/We Care’s clients.
Following the Shabbat service in the morning, the drum workshop will begin at 12:30 p.m., with the gift giveaway running from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m.