Mitzvah Opportunities

The Bereavement Committee maintains a state of readiness. We are prepared to serve a Meal of Comfort to Temple members following the funeral service of a loved one. In order to continue to serve the Temple community we need additional volunteers. Can you help us with any of the following?

• Shop for perishables and prepare a light meal when the need arises. Remain on call for one month of your choice and as backup for another.
• Sign up to be on call for serving the meal as the need arises. We try to send servers out in pairs, so you would be working with someone. Signing up indicates that you have no regular commitments for that day and that we may call you. It is not a firm commitment.

Please contact Mark Rother at Mdrother@gmail.com with any questions or to volunteer.

Cooking for SOME at Christmas

Thanks to all who volunteer to cook and/or serve at SOME for Christmas Day! The people at SOME are great to work with and very appreciative of our help. Thanks so much for your continued support of this worthwhile Christmas Day project.

Provide-a-Meal Program

Throughout the year, we also participate in the SOME Provide-a-Meal program, which feeds homeless and poor people in the Greater Washington, DC area.

Four times per year we prepare 38 Shepherd’s pies to delivery to SOME. Each casserole feeds 10 – 12 people — that’s between 380 – 456 men, women & children!

• WE supply the casserole pans
• WE supply the recipe
• WE supply the freezer
• WE supply the delivery to SOME
• YOU pick the most convenient time to cook

Click here for the recipe to make Shepherd’s Pie for SOME

NOTE: Making lunches for homeless people through Temple Emanuel is an accepted volunteer activity which qulaifies for Student Service Learning (SSL) hours — get your children to help you and they’ll benefit too!

For more details, or to volunteer, please contact Fran Bernstein at fbernstein2@gmail.com.

“When you reap the harvest in your field and overlook a sheaf in the field, do not turn back to get it; it shall go to the stranger, the orphan, and the widow…Always remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore do I enjoin you to observe this commandment.”

(Deuteronomy 24:19-22)

The Global Mitzvah Team has established additional partnerships with two outstanding international charities: American Jewish World Service and Engineers Without Borders. We will continue our successful alliance with Plan USA/ Plan International through our Child Sponsorships of 6 year old Diego Perdomo from Morales, Guatemala, and 12 year old Kenneth Odhiambo from Rangwe, Nyanza province, Kenya. The team has also decided to become a Lending Team through Kiva and will make an initial loan to a Field Partner in Cambodia.

Current projects supported are:

Women-Led Biointensive Farming Project (with AJWS) – Developing a mini-training center in Nyanza province to teach women methods to produce food for their own families. With the Kilili Self-Help Project, women are trained to use simple, nature-based techniques like composting and organic pest control. These methods have enabled them to produce more food on small pieces of land, using 80% less water and 50%-100% less chemical fertilizer. http://ajws.org/

Santa Clara Clean Water System Project (with EWB: District of Columbia) – Providing a safe, ample water supply to the Santa Clara, El Salvador community. Water system components to be built include a pump, disinfection system, storage tank, and distribution network to serve 300 households. Our donation will purchase home water meters to assure equitable usage of water and monitoring of system effectiveness. http://www.ewb-dc.org

Safe Shelters for Refugee Children in Haiti (with Plan USA) – Constructing child-friendly spaces to prevent children from abuse, exploitation and violence. http://www.planusa.org

Kiva.org is a site for disadvantaged people all over the world seeking small loans to start their own businesses. Join the Global Mitzvah Project Lending Team by making a donation for as little as $25, and help a borrower of your choice to improve the life and well being of their family. http://www.kiva.org/team/temple_emanuel_global_mitzvah_project

Congregants are invited to join the Global Mitzvah team and attend our meetings. Please contact co-chairs, Stan Fagen or Caroline Smith DeWaal, for more information.

Stan Fagen
Co-chair, Global Mitzvah Project
sfagen@verizon.net

To review project history and developments, visit http://globalmitzvah.jottit.com ; Password: shalom.