Tikkun (Social Action)

At Adath Emanu-El we feel that Tikkun Olam, “repairing the world” is an important part of who we are as a community. Our Congregation provides its members with many opportunities for social action. Our programs benefit women’s and teen shelters, foster children and homeless veterans, the home bound and the hungry. By reaching out to people in need, we not only help to repair the world, but also strengthen our Jewish identity and provide an important example of our values for our children. We have several programs that you can participate in, and we are always open to suggestions on new ways we can help, so please email us or call our office with any ideas you may have.

JCFS PURIM FOOD DRIVE
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 
The Social Action Committee is having a Food Drive to benefit the Jewish Family & Children’s services Food Pantry for the Purim Holiday. Help make a difference. Please drop off food products in the collection bin in the hallway outside the youth room. Thank you for your support.

WISH LIST FOR JFCS FOOD PANTRY
 

• Hot or Cold cereal, cereal bars, oatmeal, granola bars
• Canned and jarred fruit, applesauce
• Canned Vegetables
• Soups
• Jars or Cans of Tomato sauce
• Pasta, noodles, spaghetti, macaroni, Boxes of Macaroni & cheese
• Canned fish products-Tuna fish, salmon, gelfite fish, sardines
• Juice packs, Bottles of juice, evaporated milk, boxed milk
• Dessert products- cookies, pudding
• Snacks- pretzels, nuts, crackers, fruit roll ups
• Personal care items- shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste                                                                               

SPONSOR A MITZVAH…
Mitzvah cooking, that is.  The Social Action Committee of Adath Emanu-El cooks on the second Tuesday of even-numbered months in our kitchen.  We cook for Providence House (a shelter), some of our own congregants in need, and for clients of Jewish Family and Children’s Services.  We fix ziti, salad and dessert for 36 people or more, and regularly need help purchasing the ingredients.  We need uncooked ziti, ricotta cheese, prepared pasta sauce, parmesan cheese, salad ingredients and cupcakes or cookies for dessert.   
Let us know that you can sponsor, or co-sponsor a session by purchasing the ingredients we need. Contact the Adath Emanu-El office or Cheryl Sperber at (856)824-0921 the week before our cooking sessions to let us know what you’re bringing.   You’re even welcome to prepare the food with us in the synagogue kitchen (@ 7 PM).  Doing a mitzvah is a wonderful feeling.  Please join us now.   

Changing the World One Pair of Shoes at a Time
Did you know that the Green Team has an ongoing fundraising project to help with Adath’s greening projects? No, we’re not asking for money but we are asking for your unwanted/unused shoes. The Green Team works with an organization called ShoeBoxRecycling who pays Adath $.50 a pound for gently used shoes that are then sold to micro entrepreneurs in Africa. Not only does it save landfill space but it supports economic development in Africa where affordable footwear is greatly needed. The SBR box can be found in the hallway between the Office and the ECC Director’s Office. Please…no flip-flops, winter or rain boots, Crocs or stiletto heels. Please no shoes that are damaged or worn out with holes or rips. This is a socially and environmentally responsible project. It’s activism that helps the environment and the people of Africa. Please think of the Green Team the next time you’re ready to part with a pair of shoes.

 
 Social Action Update Corner
This year, the Social Action Committee has engaged in some new activities, as well as continued longstanding activities. If you missed out on those or just want to continue, we have several more planned for the second half of the year for which you can pursue tikkun olam. 
School supplies donated over the summer helped dozens of children start off the new school year well stocked and prepared. Community-wide Mitzvah Day in October offered opportunities across area synagogues and the JCC to participate in a variety of mitzvah activities. Personal care items were collected for Operation Yellow Ribbon in cooperation with M’Kor Shalom. Participants at Adath pre-pared over 200 meals and lunches for congregants in need, residents of a women’s shelter and clients of a men’s homeless day shelter. We also engaged in a letter writing campaign to our members of Congress, urging them to pass stalled legislation authorizing funds for programs aimed at alleviating hunger in America. The legislation passed a month later. 
By year’s end, over a dozen turkeys had been donated and taken to area food pantries, congregants served breakfast to the homeless and others in need at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Camden; winter items/coats were collected and distributed to the needy in both Burlington City and Camden; and August and December Mitzvah cooking provided over 60 servings to congregants in need, residents of a women’s shelter and Jewish Family & Children’s Service. Tzedakah collections from various events and meetings provided over $300 in grocery gift cards which were donated to Jewish Family & Children’s Service. 
If you’re inspired to repair the world, come out to a Social Action meeting and share your ideas and your energy! 
Shalom, 
Maria Kelly 
Social Action Chair 

JFCS Food Pantry:
The food pantry shelves are bare!  Donations of non perishable, kosher food is desperately needed.  Please drop off your donations to the synagogue or bring them directly to the Federation in Cherry Hill.  We can’t allow anyone to go hungry!  Also, you can purchase $10 Shop Rite gift cards in the office and they will be given to the JFCS.  This is a great way to help!
 

The Green Team has been hard at work trying to bring energy reduction to Adath Emanu-El. The Energy Assessment Subcommittee is busy and is excited about some upcoming changes in our building as well as on the outside. 

Shoe recycling: please bring in all gently used shoes that you are no longer using. We collect them and they are refurbished and sent to needy people all over the world. Please deposit them in the cardboard box  near the synagogue the office. The Green Team is paid .50 cents a pound for the shoes we send in and this money is used to help subsidize greening projects at Adath. 

 Please join us at our monthly meetings on Monday evenings at 6:30PM.  (Please check the synagogue’s calendar for scheduled meetings)   Please feel free to contact our co-chairs, Ileen Wright or Bob Fischl, with any ideas, questions or concerns.

Ongoing Activities

Mitzvah Cooking

This is done by Adath’s Social Action Committee who invite you to join them in preparing meals for those in need.
 

Bikur Cholim Gift Making

Join us as we socialize and create gifts for those in need. For more information, contact the Temple office. Those unique craft projects will be delivered to congregants both in the hospital and at home.

Green Team Cork Collection

The Green Team is collecting wine corks. Both cork and synthetic cork are being collected. They are working with a company called Terra Cycle to keep corks out of landfills. Terra Cycle is paying us two cents a cork. The corks will be used to make cork flooring, cork boards, and other cork products. Help support the Green Team and the environment by saving your corks and putting them in the wine cork bin at the synagogue.
 
Donate to Project Sarah
Jewish Family and Children Services operates a residential shelter for abused and displaced women and children called Project Sarah. They greatly need new linens and blankets, as each new resident is given a new twin-sized set. Please help by purchasing twin-sized sheets, pillowcases, blankets and/or comforters. Then deliver them to the collection bins at Adath Emanu-El. Members of our social action committee will then carry them to Project Sarah. The clients served are in need of our physical aid as well as the emotional support. Please donate today.

Food Collection

Imagine what it would be like to go to bed hungry. Adath Emanu-El Social Action Committee is holding a food drive to benefit the Jewish Family & Children’s Services. We will be collecting non-perishable kosher-approved foods in a collection bin outside the library door. Canned goods such as tuna, soup, tomato sauce, fruits & vegetables, peanut butter, pasta, cereal, juice & snacks will be greatly appreciated. Look for the posted list outside the library.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ANY PROGRAMS, CONTACT Our Office