By Batya Rosner
Yachad members Sam Miller and Rosa Barr create specialty gift baskets for YachadGifts.com with the guidance of Project Manager Sara Kramer (standing).
Rosa Barr of Brooklyn arrived for her regular morning shift at YachadGifts.com and immediately got to work preparing 50 Chanukah-themed baskets for an upcoming Shabbaton. “Today [Tuesday] we started the baskets by setting up boxes and adding a decorative layer of paper on the bottom,” Rosa described. “On Thursday we will add the food they want. Since this is for Chanukah, we try to figure out what are reasonable foods to put in.”
“I like doing these gifts,” Rosa added. “I like going out, trying to be a saleslady. Last week, I went out to New Jersey for an educational conference and set up a table of our gifts. I talked people into buying Yachad gift baskets because they are very good. That day we made about $500.”
YachadGifts.com is a project of the Jewish Union Foundation (JUF). In partnership with Yachad, the flagship agency of the Orthodox Union’s National Jewish Council for Disabilities (NJCD), JUF provides comprehensive vocational services to the disability community.
With the guidance of a job coach, YachadGifts.com empowers individuals with a diverse array of skills which are applicable to every aspect of the business, from designing and purchasing, to packaging, shipping, delivering, data entry, sales and customer service. “This invaluable experience not only provides our clientele with a job, but builds up their skill sets, giving them the tools they need to gain competitive employment in a variety of different industries,” said Jack Gourdji, JUF executive director.
Rosa is part of a team at the YachadGifts.com office in Brooklyn that has produced and sold more than 500 specialty-themed baskets since the project began earlier this fall, according to YachadGifts.com production managers Shira Moskowitz and Sara Kramer.
Moskowitz and Kramer regularly attend various craft shows and search the internet looking for new and creative gift basket ideas, and affordable items to place inside. Their goal is to offer a wide-array of gifts and specialty baskets to meet the needs of synagogues, schools, organizations, and businesses looking to place bulk orders for seasonal gifts; or individuals and families looking for creative gestures to celebrate the holidays, a new baby, engagement, wedding, or just to say thank you.
Additionally, YachadGifts.com displays and sells pre-made gift baskets at various boutiques around the Greater New York/New Jersey area. “Our markup is very fair because our primary goal is not to make money. All of our proceeds go towards Yachad programming,” Shira Moskowitz noted.
Baskets can be customized to all budgets and interests. A complete list of prepared basket offerings are at yachadgifts.com. National shipping options are available. All included food products bear a nationally recognized kosher certification.
To place an order or for more information, contact {encode=”info@yachadgifts.com” title=”info@yachadgifts.com”} or (855) 505-7500.