Shorts: Bay Area

Celebration for Mt. Zion babies

Everyone born at San Francisco's Mt. Zion hospital has been invited to a Tuesday, Dec. 5 birthday party celebrating their birthplace.

Participants are asked to bring a copy of their birth certificate and a baby picture, and can enjoy prizes and refreshments at UCSF Mt. Zion hospital library, 1600 Divisadero St., S.F., from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. RSVP by calling (415) 885-7354.




MAZON grants $356,000 to Calif. groups

MAZON, a Jewish organization dedicated to hunger relief, has announced donations of more than $356,000 in grants to 32 California relief organizations.

The Jewish organizations that benefited include the JCC of the East Bay in Berkeley, given $7,000, and Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco, which received $8,000.

Other grantees include the Alameda County Community Food Bank in Oakland, which was granted $20,000, and the Group de la Comida in San Francisco, which was granted $15,000.

Those organizations support a wide variety of programs helping hungry Californians. MAZON grants help to provide funding for both short- and long-term solutions.




Free rides for seniors available through JFCS

To introduce its new ride service for seniors and people with disabilities, Jewish Family and Children's Services is providing free rides throughout the month of November.

The service helps Sonoma County residents get to doctor appointments, grocery stores and community events; it costs riders $5 per destination. Home care assistants can accompany riders free of charge.

Call (707) 571-8131 to book a ride.




New preschool to open in Berkeley

Congregation Netivot Shalom has made plans to open a new preschool next fall. It will be Hebrew bilingual and open to all children of the community ages 2 to 3..

An information session will take place 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 29 at Congregation Netivot Shalom, 1316 University Ave., Berkeley. Contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for more information.




Writing contest deadline extended

The deadline for the Areyvut teen b'nai mitzvah essay contest has been extended to Jan. 1.

Areyvut, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting charity, kindness and social justice, is asking students ages 12 through 15 to write a 200- to 750-word essay describing how they have incorporated those values into their personal celebrations and service projects.

For more information visit www.areyvut.org/Action/bmec07.asp.