The Social Justice Committee has been very active with the various drives we’ve been heading up! As always, your contributions have been heartwarming and much appreciated by the recipients!
1. Change in Social Justice Committee Leadership: Beginning in September, Karen Lerman has assumed the role of Chairperson of the committee, as Jamie Steinberg will be stepping back. Jamie will continue to be involved. Feel free to contact Karen at karenesilver@yahoo.com.
2. Journey For the Living: Please join the Kol Dorot team to raise money for holocaust education in schools. Through the month of November, commit to walking, running, or riding 15 miles. This is the distance that holocaust survivor Mark Schonwetter walked to escape his hometown in Poland to go to a ghetto where he thought he would be safer. Raise money for a great cause and get fit! Registration is free. https://www.charityfootprints.com/journeyfortheliving
3. Family Promise is a non-profit organization whose mission is to help homeless and low-income families obtain sustainable independence. Prior to Covid, families were hosted throughout the county in a house of worship for a week or two, before moving onto the next hosting congregation. Since Covid, Family Promise had to change how they, and willing congregations, can provide for these families. While both of our legacy congregations have historically hosted families in our respective synagogues, Family Promise’s focus has now shifted to the Walk-In Dinner Program. The Walk-In Dinner Program provides meals to approximately 140-180 people on a nightly basis in the Bergen County Housing, Health and Human Service Center in Hackensack. This year, Kol Dorot joined this effort by providing the meals on September 29 to 156 people. Family promise gave excellent feedback about our meal! Thank you to everyone who signed up to help, and a special thank you to Jin Rubenstein for organizing this huge effort! We will repeat our efforts with the Walk-In Dinner Program in late March, so look out for more information in the winter months.
4. Just One More Thing…For the month of November, the Helping Hands Food Pantry is requesting canned peaches and pears, hair conditioner, and liquid hand soap. We will be accepting donations through November 22. Please direct any questions to Karen Lerman. For collection destinations, please click on food donation locations. Please note that Kol Dorot has been added as a collection site.
If you prefer to make a monetary donation for the food pantry, Women of Kol Dorot is still selling supermarket gift cards. The gift cards can be donated to the food bank while supporting WKD. Please contact Jan Miller at janlmiller113@gmail.com for more information on the gift cards.
The National Council of Jewish Women is still accepting gently used fall clothes to sell in their thrift shop. All items must be in good condition, clean and put into plastic bags. Any questions, please contact Janis Kronenberg. This collection is on-going.
Lastly, we are continuing to collect educational toys and supplies for the Greater Bergen Community Action. These donations will be used at their Head Start programs in Passaic and Bergen Counties. The Amazon Wish List will remain active and will be updated to include additional items they may need. You can access the list here. The items are shipped directly to Jamie Steinberg, who will deliver them to the GBCA offices. Feel free to contact her with any questions you may have about this program.