Baltimore, MD - June 20, 2021  - This past Thursday evening, close to 70 girls gathered at Milk and Honey Bistro for an evening of appreciation to all the dedicated staff and volunteers of Menucha. 

The girls all had one thing in common: using their time wisely to care for a child with special needs while providing the families a well needed break.

The event emcee was Bella Herman, the director of Sunday Funday. She started off by thanking everyone for all they do for the children and their families.

She then introduced Mrs. Rivky Danziger, a Menucha parent.

Mrs. Danziger spoke about the challenges of having a child with special needs and the impact it has on the family.  She then thanked the girls for providing such a positive place for her daughter to spend time, giving her the menuchas hanefesh to take care of her family. She mentioned how these girls have so many other responsibilities both at school and home but nevertheless make time to help out the children and their families with such happiness.

Special mention was made of all the volunteer drivers that drive the participants to the program thereby taking that burden off of the parents.

The next speaker was Mrs. Devora Hoffman, wife of Menucha Director Rabbi Sholom Dovid Hoffman. She spoke about what it's like growing up with an older sibling with severe disabilities. She spoke about how the helpers that would come to their house were lifesavers for the entire family. Knowing that there are other people who appreciate the special child for who they are gives the entire family a tremendous amount of chizuk that they are not alone in this challenge.

On behalf of the administration of Menucha, she then presented the directors of each program a token of appreciation for all the hard work and effort they put into making each program so successful. She presented to Rivka Hack, the day program director; Bella Herman, the Sunday Funday director; Rivka Garry and Leah Liebman, the evening program directors.

Yehudis Mark, a volunteer and a sibling, shared what it's like to be a sibling and a volunteer at the same time. She shared about when her special sibling joined her family and how it impacted her life. She then shared her feelings from the other side as a volunteer.

Menucha volunteers Sara Malka Berkowitz and Rena Cohn, shared with everyone how being a volunteer for Menucha has made them into better people.  They spoke of how the satisfaction and gratification a volunteer has from working with these children is really something special.

A video presentation had a roundup of scenes from the program this year with a song of appreciation. The highlight of the video was the special children themselves thanking the volunteers for all they do for them.

Aryeh Rosen of Milk and Honey Bistro did an amazing job with the food and decor.

The girls left with a new Menucha sweatshirt and a renewed feeling of pride in their amazing work they do.