North Shore Hebrew Academy of Great Neck, N. Y. sponsored a school-wide campaign, encouraging parents to give their children "The Gift of Giving" in lieu of personal presents on one night of Chanukah.

Israel's children are becoming poorer, more violent and more neglected while the solutions to these problems offered by the state are becoming fewer, according to the National Council for the Child's annual report. The report was presented yesterday to President Moshe Katsav.

This Chanukah, we have erected the largest menorah in the world measuring 10,000 square feet, out of thousands of light bulbs at the entrance to Jerusalem, in collaboration with the Jerusalem municipality.

The home of a large and active Jewish community, Baltimore was selected as the site of a major fundraising drive organized to help Meir Panim build and equip a desperately-needed soup kitchen at Kiryat Gat in the Negev.

On Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2004, a special second-hand book fair will open in the "Emtza HaDerech" Shopping Mall. All of the proceeds from the fair will go to the "Meir Panim- Power of Giving" organization to fund hot meals for needy schoolchildren.

Alexa Sara Lean of N. Y. wants to help Meir Panim feed the hungry in honor of her becoming a Bat Mitzvah on November 13, 2004

After almost four years of operations, the first "Meir Panim- Power of Giving" Volunteers Conference took place, with about 200 volunteers from all over the country in attendance.

Tzur Falk, a youth volunteer, celebrated his Bar-Mitzvah at "Meir Panim" recently. Lately, Tzur has been coming every day to help serve lunch in the Jerusalem Food Center, even though he lives outside the city.

The "B'Atzmi" organization, specializing in assisting the unemployed, and the "Kalisher" and "Telalim" absorption centers, in cooperation with "Power of Giving" launched and ran a program on employment initiatives for new immigrants from Ethiopia.

A fifth after-school center has joined the ranks of the other Meir Panim after-school centers located in Kiryat Arba, Kiryat Malachi, Jerusalem and Haifa. This new center is situated in Sderot on Rechov HaVered and is run in cooperation with the "Makom BaLev" association of the US based OU organization.

The Mayor of Petach Tikva, Mr. Yitzchak Ochayon arrived for a visit this week in the Jerusalem branch of Meir Panim. The Mayor spoke with the organizations' administrative staff regarding some ideas and proposals that involve working together in his city.