Mitzvah-Mania Mural: Art Works to Teach Tolerance

"Every blade of grass has its angel

That bends over and whispers

'grow with language and love'

We welcome you to come down

and grow with love.

The butterfly,

The flowers,

The community,

Our mural welcomes our community

To come down and grow together

With all our languages and all our love

To care for one another."

This poem by J.H.Taggart School sixth-grader Jason Murphy conveys the collective excitement of the entire South Philadelphia neighborhood at the dedication of the multicultural mural colorfully painted on the wall of the school at Fourth and Porter streets. Aptly titled "Grow, Grow," the design was created by muralist Barbara Smolen, one of several talented artists who works with the Philadelphia Mural Arts program, and executed by hundreds of volunteers who participated in the first annual Mitzvah Mania, a citywide day of community service, facilitated last fall by Federation.

During the June 11 dedication ceremony, Taggart School principal Diane Scott called upon Murphy and other students to share the poems they wrote for the event with the assembled crowd of parents, teachers, community residents and dignitaries. These poems are particularly poignant, as many of the poets are recent émigrés, and are learning English as a second language.

To Yasar Khan, the mural represents the "shiny freshness of education, colors of many worlds, joy, a difference in my life and growth to go forward in the world." Xzandria Bora is inspired by this artistic expression of "diversity of culture, the fertile soils of children's minds, children's voices. Respect for the variety of people, a thirst for knowledge and an opportunity for growth."

And for Richard Lewis, the mural is a source of personal pride.

"We are a community with different people, from different places yet we all belong," explained the sixth-grader. "Our community is strong. Our community wouldn't be the same if we didn't work together. Our community wouldn't be the same if we weren't there for each other. Being different is what makes our community strong!"

This young poet emphasizes that "the mural teaches us that all nature works together and our hearts want to belong."

Sikandar Khan said that the mural conveys "differences in color, the freshness of the afternoon, teachers talking and helping little ones, like flowers in the wind, growing towards the sun."

Lucy Tran felt that the mural, which translates the word "grow" into the 14 different languages spoken at the school, resonates with her personal story. "Hidden in our mural are the sayings, 'We are one big community, with many types of cultures, each different and unique. We each benefit from one another and, when needed, we shall work together.'

"The mural also says," she continued, that through pictures, "teamwork is the element we need to succeed, that we need time and patience like a growing seed, that actions have their consequences, that responsibility is crucial, and that for life and growth, we must have a balance like the good and evil of the world."

Tran's closing stanza perhaps best expressed the living lesson indelibly etched in the mural -- "Though some may not see, on the mural it is written that multiculturalism is the key!"

The dedication ceremony also served as a springboard for the announcement of Mitzvah Mania '08, slated for Sunday, Nov. 2, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Headquarters for this large-scale day of tzedakah and tikkun olam, which last year mobilized more than 5,000 Jewish community volunteers, will be the Myer and Rosaline Feinstein Campus in Northeast Philadelphia.

While last year, there were hundreds of projects throughout the five-county Greater Philadelphia region, this year volunteers will concentrate on making a difference in the lives of people served by the JCCs Klein Branch, Federation Housing senior apartments and Federation Early Learning Services child-care center -- all Federation constituent agencies located on the campus -- as well as other hunger-relief and social-action projects throughout the area, including Bucks County.

Volunteers can:

Feed the Hungry

· Prepare blizzard bags, breakfast bags and Thanksgiving baskets;

· Help prepare meals for the JCC's Home-Delivered Meal Program.

Enhance the Neighborhood

· Perform environmental cleanup, mulch and plant flowers at Poquessing Watershed Park, at Academy and Torrey roads, part of the Fairmount Park System.

Home Repair

· Clean and winterize homes for at-risk seniors with Federation's Mitzvah Mania '08 partner, Rebuilding Together Philadelphia.

Promote L'dor V'dor

· Participate in clothing and warm-blanket drives;

· Visit seniors and drop off gift bags;

· Teens can participate in an intergenerational lunch.

Beautify the Neighborhood

· Paint a mural at the JCC Klein Branch with another partner, The Philadelphia Mural Arts Program.

Enhance the Community

· Clean and beautify the Feinstein Campus, including the areas around Federation Housing, JCC Klein and Federation Early Learning Services.

Other Ways to Get Involved
Synagogues and other Jewish community organizations are also encouraged to create Mitzvah Mania '08 projects of their own. Federation will publicize these projects online at: www.jewishphilly.org/ mitzvahmania and help to recruit volunteers. All volunteers will receive Mitzvah Mania '08 T-shirts.

Event co-chairs are Peggy and Joe Carver, Beth and Jerry Frezel, and Marjorie and Jeffrey Honickman.

Organizations that would like to become involved can call David Rosenberg, director of the Center for Social Responsibility, at 215-832-0850 or e-mail: drosenberg@philafederation.org.

Individual volunteers may register online at: www.jewishphilly.org or call the Mitzvah Mania hotline at 215-832-0564.

Early registrations are encouraged, as many popular projects fill up quickly.