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SOCIAL ACTION COMMITTEE
The
Tikkun
Olam
Council
School Partnership with
Nkayi
Passover Food Package Delivery
Sunday, May 4, 2008, MITZVAH DAY
Tikkun Olam Youth Corp
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The Tikkun Olam Council School Partnership with Nkayi Primary School in Zimbabwe
Children living in Zimbabwe and other African nations face many hardships. Everyday they must endure hunger, illness, and the daily threat of violence. Many have been orphaned as a result of the sweeping AIDS epidemic (life expectancy of a Zimbabwean woman is now 34 years) and have no opportunity for an education. Those who do go to school often have no text books, basic school supplies, or science equipment in their schools. Many children must travel several miles each day to their school and go without breakfast or lunch as the schools cannot provide either.
To help improve conditions and provide a learning environment for some of these children, Temple Beth El’s Tikkun Olam Council in partnership with the US Africa Children’s Fellowship (an American not-for-profit organization) has begun a program to sponsor a school in Zimbabwe.
Temple Beth El has been partnered with the Nkayi Primary School in Zimbabwe. The school is located about 100 miles north of Bulawayo and has an enrollment of 350 children ages 5 – 13 years. At present, 30% of the children in this school have been orphaned by AIDS. The children in the religious school, through activities with the Tikkun Olam Youth Corp., will help lead our partnership with Nkayi.
School Supply Drive for Nkayi Primary
For the month of May and June, the Tikkun Olam Council will be collecting basic supplies which are desperately needed by the Nkayi Primary School. These items include pencils, pens, chalk, notebooks, paper, and rulers. We are asking your help in donating any of these items. The school’s need is so great that we will accept new supplies as well as your children’s unneeded school supplies from this year. Starting May 18, a donation box will be located in the temple lobby until the end of the school year. With the help of our community and children, we can improve the lives of so many children who have so little.
All tzedakah for the month of May will also go toward the school and assisting them to purchase class supplies. For more information or to find out how you can help, please contact Sheila Schneiderman (sheilasyogi@aol.com).
The Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism states that “as Jews, living one generation after the near annihilation of our people, we know too well the danger and horror of global indifference. Too often, people turn their backs on Africa. However, to us “never again” is not just a slogan, it is a firm, moral commitment on our part not to stand by in the face of unspeakable hatred and violence.”
Temple Beth El Participates in the Passover Food Package Delivery to
Homebound Elderly in the Bronx
A rewarding morning was had by all as TBE families made their way down to Co-Op City on the morning of April 6th. to deliver Passover food to the needy and homebound Jewish elderly. Since many of these seniors do not get many visitors, the smiling faces, warmth and caring of the TBE families brought joy to their hearts and brightened their day!
Testimonials
“Thank you for organizing this meaningful day. My 2 kids really enjoyed participating and my son asked if we can sign up again next year....he qualified it as a "fun mitzvah"....this is so important to instill compassion and volunteerism in our kids at an early age …Thanks again.” Liz Birenbaum
“It was a very rewarding morning, and the kids felt that they were brightening someone else’s day!!”… Hilary Leser
“It was a wonderful experience”…Dawn Sanders
“One elderly man began to cry as we gave him his package and said, “This is the closest I will get to Passover this year!” He couldn’t stop thanking us and we were so moved…Stephanie Spiegel
A Huge Thank You to the Following Families: the Birenbaum’s, the Schacter-Levy’s, the Probers, the Cantors, the Wilsons, the Lazarus’s, the Fiersteins, the Sanders, the Makes, the Blanks, the Hamlets, the Tilzers, the Adlers, the Ornsteins, the Rubensteins, the Shields, the Passicks, the Lesers, the Hindersteins, the Ehrlichs, the Nankofs.
~Stephanie Spiegel
Save the Date!
Sunday, May 4, 2008,
MITZVAH DAY 2008
On Mitzvah Day, we take action by reaching out and helping those in need in our community. There will be activities for adults and children of all ages, as we carry on the Jewish traditions and values of tikkun olam, repairing the world, and kehilah, sacred community. Mitzvah Day is always meaningful not just for those we help, but for all of us as well. Please watch for the brochure in the mail, and mark the date on your calendars.
Tikkun Olam Youth Corp Fundraiser - Look for Us at Mitzvah Day
Calling all kids - join us at the Tikkun Olam Youth Corp table at the Mitzvah Day barbeque to participate in our social justice fundraiser to benefit NOW Israel.
Save the Date! Sunday, May 18, 2008, NY AIDs Walk
Temple Beth El will send a team on May 18, 2008 to participate in the NY AIDs walk. Be part of our temple effort as we demonstrate our collective commitment to fighting the scourge of HIV/AIDS, which continues to have devastating effects in the United States among young homosexual men, and in other areas of the world such as Sub-Sahara Africa, where approximately 1.7 million people will become infected with HIV this year.
As the date of the walk approaches, we will provide further information on how you can get involved, by participating in the walk, by helping to raise awareness, and by supporting walkers by making donations for the cause. For more information about the AIDS walk, please visit www.aidswalk.net/newyork or contact Matt Cantor, our team captain, at cantorjm2@aol.com.
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Tikkun Olam Youth Corp
The TOC is excited to announce the beginning of a new temple youth group committed to Tikkun Olam activities and programs. The Tikkun Olam Youth Corps will devote their energies to helping others. Through this effort, we will teach our children the Jewish obligation to take care of others and our community, in a fun, welcoming temple environment. More details to follow soon.
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