Your Tikkun Olam Committee encourages your active support and participation in the following activities. Please read The Shofar and the weekly Shofar Blasts for more information concerning all of these projects.
Interfaith Service Day Sunday, August 6th
Join with a group of TE volunteers and those from other congregations for an interfaith day of service. This is a perfect Tikkun Olam activity for family participation.
Jean Silk, Coordinator
2nd Annual Reverse Tashlich (A Rosh Hashanah tradition) – Sunday, September 10th
Partner with ‘Repair the Sea’ and ‘Save the Sound’ to remove litter from our local beaches. This is a perfect Tikkun Olam activity for family participation.
Karen Fenichel and Adam Spiewak, Coordinators
30th Annual High Holy Days Food Drive
September 15th – October 6th (Through the Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, & Sukkot holidays)
Donate non-perishable food to be distributed to the food pantries of both the Jewish Family Service (JFS) and the Town of Orange. Monetary donations can also be sent directly to these two food pantries.
Will Sherman, Coordinator
Annual Thanksgiving Frozen Turkey and Pie Collection
October 22nd – November 12th (pre-Thanksgiving)
Donate frozen turkeys and pies to be distributed to the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen (DESK).
Jeff Levinson, Coordinator
Annual Diaper Drive (Dates to be determined)
Donate diapers to be distributed to the Conn. Diaper Bank to assist needy families with their baby needs. Monetary donations can also be sent directly to this agency.
Michelle Bailey, Rochelle Kanell, and Rise Siegel, Coordinators
Annual Purim Pasta Collection March 24th
The Religious School children bring in and use boxes of pasta as groggers during the Purim service and they are then donated to the Beth-El Homeless Shelter & Soup Kitchen in Milford.
Nancy Weber, Coordinator
Columbus House Fundraiser February 15th – March 17th
As a Mishloach Manot tzedakah activity for Purim, we will hold a fundraiser for the Columbus House Homeless Shelter.
This activity might be combined with Abraham’s Tent (Please see next item.)
Annual Abraham’s Tent Project (Date to be determined)
Prepare/serve dinner and socialize with a small group of selected homeless men at a partner church in Hamden coordinated by the Columbus House Homeless Shelter. Additionally, there’s a possible opportunity for a few TE members to then sleep over. This is a great hands-on activity. During Covid, when we couldn’t meet in person, this Tikkun Olam activity was converted to a monetary collection to support Columbus House.
Barb Levine-Ritterman and Lee Stolzman, Coordinators
Annual Beth-El Shelter Collection May
Donate towels, bed sheets, underwear, and socks for the Beth-El Homeless Shelter in Milford
Nancy Weber, Coordinator
In addition to the above Tikkun Olam Project, members of Temple Emanuel are actively involved in a variety of additional activities and we urge your active support and participation.
Religious School Tikkun Olam Projects (Olga Markus and the Religious School staff, students, and parents)
Chanukah Baskets – November 19th – December 10th
Toys, books, games, clothing, and personal hygiene/care objects to be donated to JFS, r’Kids Family Center, Fair Haven Community Health Center, and Fellowship Place
Purim Mitzvah Project (Date to be determined)
“Blessing Bags” with hand-written notes and personal hygiene/care objects to be donated to the homeless programs of Columbus House and Fellowship Place
Jewish Community Alliance for Refugee Resettlement (JCARR)
A partnership of six local synagogues and the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven, JCARR has thus far helped welcome and relocate eight refugee families from around the world. Your ongoing support and assistance is greatly appreciated.
Jean Silk, Coordinator
Congregations Organized for a New Connecticut (CONECT)
Keeping within our Jewish values of “Justice, justice you shall pursue,” CONECT is an organization devoted to social and economic justice, gun violence and health insurance issues, police reform, and immigration rights.
Alana Rosenberg, Coordinator
Beth-El Shelter and Soup Kitchen (in Milford)
Volunteers from TE prepare and serve dinner on the first Tuesday of each month. This is a great hands-on activity.
Nancy Weber and Rachel Suchoff, Coordinators