The first mitzvah for 2010

Happy New Year, my friends!

It's pretty exciting to think that we're in a new decade and can make a fresh start. The two cuties above are my son, Benji, and his cousin, Sarah. This was taken at Benji's second birthday party; Sarah was about 20 months at the time. This was how I spent the 90s. This past decade was dedicated to raising my son, building community and work. It had its highs and lows, but all in all, it was good. I know I was blessed and I want to give back.

One of the ways I'm going to do that is to contribute to a diaper drive started by Julie at Tangobaby. Her story is pretty extraordinary. She's a single working girl living in San Francisco who stopped for a homeless woman and it changed her life. The woman had three children, including an infant, and Julie felt compelled to do something. She checked things out to make sure the woman was legit and found a dire need that is going unexpressed. Disposable diapers are too expensive for the poorest women, those who have escaped abuse and must spend whatever money they have just to survive.

A young mother read about this on Julie's blog and wanted to help. As she looked into it, she discovered that even social safety-net programs such as WIC and foodstamps do not cover diapers. So she and a friend founded Help a Mother Out (HAMO) to begin a diaper drive to get disposable diapers to shelters and agencies that help this population. It's an opportunity to do your first mitzvah (good deed) of the year. What a great way to start 2010!

And to thank you for reading this far, here's a more recent photo of Benji and Sarah from the decade just past. By the end of this decade they'll be out on their own, conquering the world.

Wow.