For the past 47 years, the women of Rhode Island Hadassah (The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc.) have set up shop in the Warwick Mall and wrapped gifts for thankful and (sometimes) hapless customers.

“I have been coming here to these ladies for the past eight or nine years,” said James Trandle. “They are truly my Christmas angles. They wrap everything and I mean everything. From toys when the kids were little to jewelry to skates to dishes, I’ve brought it all to them, and they smile and say ‘pick your paper.’”

What originally started with just the Pawtucket chapter has now grown into an annual tradition for friends to meet and catch up. 

“I’ve been wrapping gifts at the Warwick Mall for longer than I can remember. I enjoy doing it each year. For an extrovert, it’s a dream gig. I get to kibbitz with people and help raise funds for a worthy organization. I love seeing what people buy as gifts, chatting with them about what’s on the menu for the holiday and running into former students or friends who happen to be in the mall. The biggest challenge is wrapping odd shaped gifts that don’t fit into a box. However, generally the customer is pleased with my result and relieved the wrapping is done and he/she doesn’t have to deal with it,” said Cranston Hadassah member, Paula Goldberg.

Organizing the over 60 volunteers, since 2003, is former Hadassah treasurer, Judy Silverman.

She oversees all the schedules, and ordering and storing of all the supplies. Silverman makes over two thousand bows a year by hand while watching TV. 

“I am incredibly impressed with Judy Silverman who has been volunteer chair of this project for a very long time. She is amazingly organized, taking care of all the wrapping supplies, money and making sure there are enough volunteer wrappers, sending out e-mail reminders to all who sign up and being understanding when people get sick. She’s at the mall each wrapping day at the beginning and end of the day, also putting in many shifts wrapping. She does all this with a smile and thanks to the other volunteers,” said Goldberg.

Each wrapper has their specific reasons for volunteering. Some women are there because their moms go, some are there because their moms did go, but everyone is there to help and display their love and support for Hadassah.

“This was my first experience wrapping gifts at the Hadassah booth. I only wrapped gifts for a few hours, but during that time, I enjoyed meeting women I hadn’t known before, sharing a few stories during some down time (first day of the booth), and when I was wrapping gifts, I was struck by the patience of the customers (wrapping is not a one- or two-minute endeavor, at least not for me), their friendliness, and the generosity they displayed, with many giving us more than the amount of the fees charged,” said Judy Fishman of Providence.

Wrapping is not for the faint of heart, however. Back in the day, the Pawtucket ladies held classes, where volunteers had to learn how to make a double seam, use double sided tape and how to construct the trademark bows and ribbons. Wrappers are on their feet for a minimum of a four-hour shift, talking to the customers, bandaging paper cuts and sharing family stories with coworkers they haven’t seen since last year.

“Wrapping gifts with the Hadassah group was a fun experience. I relearned wrapping techniques and reconnected with people I had not seen in many years. I enjoyed my evening of helping,” said Barbara Dwares of Cranston.

To learn more about Hadassah and the extraordinary works they do, visit hadassah.org