Carnival reaches out

CHARITIES across Melbourne benefited on Sunday, with hundreds of Jewish kids volunteering to help those in need.

For the first time, Maccabi Junior Carnival participants took a day out of their busy sport and social program to undertake a full day of community service.

The brainchild of carnival manager Mark Klapish and his Maccabi counterpart Brian Swersky, it was described by Klapish as “magnificent”.

It was so successful that the organisers of next year’s carnival in Brisbane have already pledged to keep up the new tradition.

The youngsters entertained the elderly at Jewish Care, lent a hand to those still recovering from the Black Saturday bushfires, helped out at the VicRelief Foodbank and cleaned up the beach.

At the VicRelief Foodbank, 50 participants learnt what many people in poverty have to live through without adequate food or money. They also helped pack food hampers for those affected by recent flooding.

Klapish described how a 12-year-old carnival participant chose to write a card to go with a packed lunch she had prepared for an underprivileged child. In the card she wrote a reminder that there were people out there who cared.

At Jewish Care, the 400 Junior Carnival competitors assisted residents in a variety of activities, ranging from zumba classes to painting. Many also interacted with children with special needs.

With the beach season well and truly upon us, 200 participants and leaders travelled to various points along Port Phillip Bay. There they put in a tremendous effort, learning about the threats to the coastal environment and getting their hands dirty pulling out troublesome weeds.

After a solid two-hour weeding session, everyone took a break for lunch with shadow minister for the environment Greg Hunt, who spoke about preserving the environment.

The Liberal Member for Flinders took everyone by surprise, greeting the kids in Hebrew, which he learnt while living in Israel in 1985.

Almost two years after the Black Saturday bushfires, many communities are still in the recovery process, so 100 kids were sent to Marysville and Kinglake to work on restoring damaged properties and to lend a hand at a local farmers’ market.

ASHLEY SHENKER

Photo: Peter Haskin