Mitzvah Mall 2016, Aid Syrian Refugees, Family Promise, UnWINED with UnCHAINED, Feed Our Hungry Neighbors, Memories and Materials, Social Action Drives
Mitzvah Mall 2016:
Help Choose Three Charity Options for Each Mitzvah at Working Session With Sara Losch
October 11, from 11 am to 1 pm
Thanks to everyone who participated in the Mitzvah Mall 2016 charity sorting session on September 27, we are much closer to honing in on the best fit for each of our 10 mitzvot.
Click here to see the list of charities we will be considering and voting on at the Charity Choosing Workshop, Sunday, October 11, 11 am - 1 pm.
All are welcome! Don't worry if you don't have time to research charities beforehand. Just join in and give us your input! Every vote counts as we choose the three options for each mitzvah that best meet the criteria for Mitzvah Mall.
Bring your iPad, laptop or smart phone to research Web sites. A light lunch will be served. RSVPs are appreciated. E-mail Eileen Roman at jdroman@verizon.net, or Ron Lynn at ronlynnhome@optonline.net.
Next:
- Annual Tzedek Brunch, Sunday, October 25, 9 - 11 am Listen, learn, discuss, debate, and choose five of the final 10 charities we will support through Mitzvah Mall 2016. Religious School students will be doing the same thing in their classrooms. This is a true community-wide endeavor!
- Mitzvah Mall 2016 and the Men's Club Pancake Breakfast Sunday, January 31, from 9 am - Noon Learn about the issues 10 well-deserving grassroots organizations are addressing and how you can help them make a difference. Interact, donate, volunteer, win raffle prizes and eat eggs and pancakes!
Contact us if you need babysitting for any of the above events!
"Be quick in performing a minor mitzvah as much as a major one; and flee from transgression, for mitzvah goreret mitzvah, aveirah goreret aveirah, one mitzvah leads to another, and one transgression leads to another."
Pirkei Avot 4:2
Hear The Call. Be The Call.
The Syrian Refugee Crisis - You Can Make A Difference.
Three things we can do:
1. Go to the HIAS (formerly called the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) website (HIAS.org - look for the "Global Refugee Crisis - How You Can Help"):
- Sign the online petition to President Obama: "Commit to resettling in the United States 100,000 of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees, allowing more individuals and families to start new lives in safety and freedom." - Call your Senator, House of Representative Members using the HIAS script requesting support for the increase in refugee funding and legislation to improve the lives of refugees.
HIAS - the only Jewish organization whose mission is to assist refugees - whomever they are and wherever they are, through action and advocacy. HIAS.org
IsraAID - is a humanitarian aid agency helping people all over the world and providing millions with vital support for over a decade. http://www.israaid.co.il/
Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief (JCDR) - brings together the experience, expertise, and resources of North American Jewish organizations that seek to assist victims of natural or man-made disasters outside of North America on a non-sectarian basis. http://www.jdc.org/jcdr/
Join the Family Promise Day Shelter Volunteer Team
Each month we send out an email looking for volunteers to sign up for a 2 to 3 hour shift on the second Sunday of the month. Upcoming dates: October 11, November 8, December 13. If you are free - sign up. No long term commitment needed. Its great family service opportunity - kids are welcome and many have used this for their Mitzvah Project. Your role is to just be a presence at the shelter while the regular weekly staff is not working. There are typically 2 to 4 families in the program. You may play with the children there, read a story or just chat with the parents. It is an important and rewarding service that enables working homeless families to have a "home base" where they can spend the day.
Contact Temple member Donna Meyer at (201) 681-7044 or meymail@me.com for more information or to join the monthly list.
UnWINED with UnCHAINED: Saturday, October 17, 5 - 7 pm 35 Robert Drive, Short Hills, NJ
Continue supporting Mitzvah Mall 2014 charity Unchained at Last at a special event. This event will honor Naomi Eisenberger, Executive Director of the Good People Fund (a longtime Mitzvah Mall advisor, partner and participant), and Susan Fleisch, MSW, LCSW.
UnWINED with UnCHAINED: An evening of good will and great spirits to benefit women and girls fleeing forced marriages. Wine Tasting, non-alcoholic beverages, hors d'oeuvres, silent auction, live music $75 per person ($60 tax deductible)
As school starts, can you imagine if you were a Bergen County parent who could not afford to feed your hungry children? Many of your neighbors will turn to the Center for Food Action in order to put food on their tables.
You can make a difference! Food donations are accepted at Barnert Temple, and financial donations can be made to The Center for Food Action by clicking here.
The Center for Food Action purchases many of the basics that go into emergency food packages - things like peanut butter, soup, pasta and fresh items such as eggs and vegetables - because food donations are just not keeping pace with the need.
The thought of having a child or a senior citizen or anyone in our area going hungry is unacceptable. Your help is urgently needed to make sure that this doesn't happen. Your gift will help ensure that local families will be able to put food on their tables this summer.
DONATE today. Send a check payable to Center for Food Action to:
Center for Food Action
192 West Demarest Avenue
Englewood, New Jersey 07631
Social Action Drives
We are Always Collecting Food: Check out the On-Line Option for Donating Food!
Local food pantries are struggling to meet demand. We're always collecting food in the Atrium, but now you may also donate food through the click of a button. Click here for our Barnert Temple Food Drive webpage at yougivegoods.com. It's simple! Select the food you would like to donate and pay on-line. All purchases will be delivered to the Center for Food Action in Mahwah.
Winter Coats and Jackets : We are still collecting for children and adults. Please donate new or gently used coats and jackets today! They will be donated to the Paterson community through CUMAC (Center of United Methodist Aid), a 2009 Mitzvah Mall Charity.
New Toiletries, Cosmetic Bags, Toiletry Bags: Center for Hope and Safety (formerly Shelter Our Sisters, a 2002 Mitzvah Mall Charity) still need items. Full sizes or the small bottles of shampoo, conditioner, lotion and bars of soap from hotels are great! New cosmetic bags and toiletry bags are needed as well!
Please drop off your contributions in the baskets in the Atrium.
Contribute to the Mitzvah Mall Archives:
Share Memories and Materials So Others May Benefit From Our Experience
Team Tzedek is collecting all photos, memories, agendas and handouts from past Mitzvah Malls to use for a Power Point we will be creating to share with Temples and other organizations that would like to create similar programs. If you have anything you would like to share, please send it to Mitzvah Mall Archivist Florette Lynn at faygel@optonline.net.
We are Always Collecting Food:
Winter Coats and Jackets :
Team Tzedek is collecting 