Excitement was in the air in Oorah’s warehouse this Tuesday, with music blaring and girls cheering. This was no ordinary class trip for the ninth grade of Ilan High School of Deal, New Jersey. These girls were on a mission. A mission to bring festive Purim spirit to homes across the country which otherwise would have none.

The forty-five girls and their teacher volunteered to help Oorah pack the thousands of mishloach manos that Oorah sends out each year. Ilan’s students have come in previous years and were here earlier this year to help pack Oorah’s Chanukah party-in-a-box packages.

Nearly 3,000 brightly-decorated Purim boxes were stuffed with all kinds of goodies, including a Purim guide explaining all aspects of the holiday, a fun Oorah kippah and of course, lots of nosh.  The massive job was made easier with the assistance of the exuberant Ilan teens.

“It’s really like a factory. It’s so nice,” said one of the girls. With Oorah staff on hand to direct them, the girls formed two assembly lines, with a quickly-growing stack of boxes attesting to their efficiency. In just a couple of hours, over 1,800 had been completed. That’s 1,800 families better able to feel the joy of Purim, thanks to Oorah and one special group of girls.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)