First Annual Fifth Night - Hanukkah Party and Charitable Gift Giving Celebration Benefiting Jewish Family Services Hosted by the Mandell JCC and Kinsella Magnet School of Performing Arts

All are invited to attend the First Annual Fifth Night Celebration, benefiting Jewish Family Services on Wednesday, December 12, 2012 from 5:30 – 6:30 pm at Mandell JCC, Zachs Campus, 335 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford.

The event is a fun and simple way for children to participate in Tzedakah (akin to charity) by giving one night of Hanukkah gifts to a child in need. Coming together to celebrate and donate helps children better understand how their giving will benefit and impact other children and families, and makes the holiday even more meaningful.

Each year The Fifth Night local organizers select a child-focused charitable partner to donate gifts. This year, we are proud to support Jewish Family Services, a social service agency helping individuals and families deal with life cycle transitions and adversity – www.jfshartford.org. 

To help children understand the impact of their gifts, and to make the experience more fun and personal, parents are encouraged to help each child select a gift for a recipient of a similar age. Jewish Family Services will gratefully accept new, unwrapped gifts for children ranging in age from birth to 18 – gift cards included.

After enjoying a holiday craft, candle lighting, and a light dessert, children will have a chance to personally donate their specially-chosen presents. A representative from Jewish Family Services will speak briefly to the children to thank them for their gifts, and describe how their donations will help the recipients and their families. With the little ones in mind, the presentations will be kept short, and easy to understand.

*The FREE event is open to all. Space is limited – please register by calling 860-236-4571 or stop by the Mandell JCC Member Services Center.

About the Mandell JCC

The Mandell Jewish Community Center is open to everyone and supported by funds raised by the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford, a recipient of funding from the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Hartford, and a member of the JCC Association of North America. For updates, follow the Mandell JCC on Facebook and Twitter. All dates and programs subject to change.

About Kinsella Magnet School of Performing Arts

Kinsella Magnet School of Performing Arts (KMSPA), located in Coltsville National Historic Park in Hartford, Connecticut educates 760 prekindergarten-9th grade students from 45 different Greater Hartford communities. KMSPA prides itself on high academic standards entwined with performing arts. Students in prekindergarten through 4th grade experience theater, dance, vocal, instrumental and stagecraft. Students in grades five and six choose  three areas of concentration, students in grades seven and eight begin intense training as they choose a major and minor annually, and students in grade 9 participate through a conservatory approach with one primary area of focus.

About The Fifth Night

The Fifth Night is an annual event where young children learn to make a difference by donating a night of Hanukkah gifts to a chosen children’s charity.  The goal of The Fifth Night is to help the little ones better understand and appreciate the importance of their donations by learning about the charity and the families who will be benefiting from their gifts. By giving in a group setting, there is a shared energy and enthusiasm that makes Tzedeka fun and rewarding. Together, we are also able to make a more significant contribution to a charity in need.

About The Founders

Robert and Rachel Glazer, and Amy Finn, the founders of Fifth Night, are Needham Massachusetts parents. They wanted to enrich the holidays by extending their children’s spirit of giving beyond their own families, to the greater community. As their kids grew older, they explored the concept of donating some of their Hanukkah gifts, but never really knew how to make it meaningful.  The inspiration and creation of Fifth Night developed after talking to many other families who felt the same way.