Like last month, I am writing this newsletter as we await, what we hope will be our last storm of the season. As the winter comes to a close we look forward to renewed opportunities to resume life with some increased normalcy and gather with friends at Temple Shalom. For the past 24 months much of what the Tzedek Team has accomplished has been working apart but together, writing postcards, delivering food to the Freedge, assisting our local food pantries, studying and advocating for racial justice, resettling Afghan refugees, lobbying for gun violence prevention and reproductive rights, attending zoom meetings and webinars on the issues that we are passionate about. I hope by the time I write the next newsletter we are steps closer to a Tzedek Celebration to recount all we have accomplished during the past two years and look forward to learning, advocating and volunteering in person, not apart but together.
All the Best,
Marion Pollock Tzedek Newsletter Editor
RACIAL JUSTICE
Joanne Bland: A Compelling Personal Story of Civil Rights Activism For more information and to register for this event, please click on the image above.
REFUGEE SHABBAT - Friday, March 4 Join us at Shabbat Services March 4 as Temple Shalom joins the RAC and HIAS in observing Refugee Shabbat. At our own TS services, we are delighted to welcome our Afghan friends, the four young men the TSARP group has been supporting, along with our TSARP partners from other faith communities in Newton and the surrounding area. We’ll talk about how our friends got here, provide background information about the TSARP project, and recognize our wonderful volunteers. After the service, we’ll have an opportunity to meet our friends in a Q&A get-together in the Social Hall. Volunteers who haven’t yet had a chance to meet our friends – this is a great opportunity! Temple Shalom mask and vaccination policies apply (you must show your vaccination card at the door and be masked.)
VOTING RIGHTS Please consider joining our amazing team of Temple Shalom postcard writers. We are working with JALSA on a new, non-partisan effort to expand the electorate in North Carolina. Postcards, scripts, and detailed instructions will be provided. Contact Arlene Pressman,arpressman@gmail.comfor more information.
FOOD INSECURITY Help the Freedge Team! We are grateful to David Ryter and Erin Borras for their commitment to helping the Temple Shalom Freedge Tuesday Team stay organized. We are now looking for a new Co-Chair to continue this effort. The majority of this work can be done from home, online and excellent training is provided to help learn the tasks of this important position. Please contact Rabbi Abrasley,labrasley@templeshalom.org if you are interested in helping.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS Green Newton has a weekly newsletter with “News you need to take Climate Action Now”. Check it out at greennewton.org.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES Attention Families! If you have middle school or high school students who are interested in building leadership skills and want to make a difference in our community, you may wish to consider the Teen Ambassador Program for the Newton Food Pantry. Check it out here.
Welcome Home is a Newton based home goods pantry which strives to provide families experiencing hardship with basic household items they need to live with dignity. They collect and redistribute like-new household items to dozens of people in need with no fees, no forms and no requirements. There are opportunities for high school students, b'nai mitzvah students, as well as adults to volunteer at their Newton Center "showroom," and there is always a need for us to host a "blanket drive." Please contact Arlene Pressmanar.pressman@gmail.com. Newton Neighbors Helping Neighbors Sponsors Help send kids to summer camp drive. Last year our community helped send 19 students in need to Newton camps sponsored by the YMCA, Parks and Recreation, Boys and Girls Club, Space Camp, and Newton Community Education. Most Newton camps offer 70 – 80% scholarship rates to low-income families. The families are asked to make up the difference themselves. Newton Neighbors partners with school social workers to identify those families who are unable to access funds to make camp possible for their children. We seek to raise at least $7,500 for this summer’s camp program. Every contribution counts! Click on this link to make a tax-deductible contribution through our fiscal sponsor, Newton Community Pride.
Greater Boston Jewish Coalition for Literacy (GBJCL) mobilizes the Jewish community to tutor elementary school children and help them discover the joy of reading. Through partnerships with synagogues, Jewish community organizations, day schools, and local businesses, GBJCL engages volunteer tutors in school-based one-to-one literacy tutoring, mentoring, book drives, and advocacy efforts in under-served communities. Since the onset of the pandemic, there are opportunities for virtual tutoring. Please contact Arlene Pressman at ar.pressman@gmail.com for more information.
