Monthly Newsletter: December 2022 |
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Welcome to our monthly Values in Action (VIA Isaiah) newsletter: Your quick guide to improving our community and the world at Temple Isaiah. For the newsletter archive, click here.
VIA ISAIAH IS…a collection of groups within Temple Isaiah who offer opportunities to temple members to serve those in need and to make our community more just through education, advocacy and direct service. Our efforts are grounded in the Jewish values of tikkun olam, repairing the world. Everyone is welcome and needed in this effort. For details of what we do and who to contact, please click here.
“The highest level of tzedaka is giving a poor person a gift or loan, entering into a partnership with him, or giving him a job so that he will have no need to beg from other people.” –Maimonides, Laws of Gifts to the Poor 10:7
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Our monthly VIA Community meetings are the first Tuesday of the month. Everyone is invited. Please get involved! There’s a lot of repair to do and it’s more fun and meaningful doing it together, as a community. Invite a friend!
Join us Tuesday, December 6, 6:30-8pm in the Oneg Room and on Zoom.
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 870 3266 1338
Passcode: sunbear42
Join by phone at (408) 638-0968
Our theme for this meeting is “Bringing Light into the World.” TI member Karen Goldberg will share highlights of her recent Civil Rights Journey with Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ). You can read more about it here.
Bring the light of your social justice work to our meeting so we can inspire one another!
There will be no VIA Community meeting in January.
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First, Some Gratitude to Our Social Justice Warriors |
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Thank You! Your Postcard Writing Made a Difference!
You did it! Thank you to all of you who helped to get out the vote. You made a difference. We sent over 7,200 postcards to people who might have been removed from registration or who don’t frequently get to the polls and we texted and called voters to encourage them to vote in local, state and national elections. Proposition 1 in California won as did the propositions in all six states that supported a woman’s bodily autonomy. Let that sink in. Thank you!
Thank you for financially supporting and helping us assemble with our interfaith neighbors Thanksgiving food for those in need. Temple Isaiah was proud to participate in another ICARE project with our interfaith friends: Peace Lutheran Church of Danville, the Tri-Valley Hindu Community and Bahai’s of Contra Costa County Central and Walnut Creek. Together, we bought and assembled enough bags of Thanksgiving fixings for the Monument Crisis Center's Thanksgiving food drive for 60 at-risk, underserved families plus we were able to deliver 25 gift cards worth $35 each. Thank you for your generosity!
Thank you to Mountain View Family Shelter Cooks and Servers. Temple Isaiah members prepared hot, tasty dinners for residents of the Mountain View Family Shelter every evening from November 14-18. Plus, we delivered an impressive amount of bedding, towels, and supplies to assure a comfortable stay for residents. The date of the Spring 2023 Shelter Dinners program will be announced at the beginning of the year.
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URGENT NEED! Help a newly arrived young Afghan family find a job! The man has had extensive experience working with international organizations such as the U.S. Department of State. He has his green card, is eligible to work and speaks and writes English very well. He has worked in a variety of procurement and logistics jobs and has an excellent knowledge of international logistics rules and regulations related to procurement, warehousing and materials handling. He has also supervised the housekeeping, maintenance and janitorial staff for a large facility and has been an engineering assistant for an airline. Please contact Lisa Hirsch at lhirsch17@gmail.com with any opportunities, even entry level, that you may know of. |
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Support Winter Nights. Winter Nights is Coming December 19-26. Temple Isaiah’s social hall becomes a home for unhoused families, and we rely on our beloved TI community to help. This year’s program is only one week and includes Christmas. There are many ways to participate. To sign up and for general information about Winter Nights, go to: https://cccwinternights.org or contact Joani deVries joandevries2@gmail.com
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! Sort Food with an ICARE Food for Thought Project: Direct Service with Your Interfaith Neighbors December 12-14 Work side-by-side with your new interfaith friends, packing and delivering food baskets to local public schools in the West Contra Costa Unified School District. (The schools then distribute the baskets to select families of children attending their school.) School officials noticed that students from low-income families often struggled when they returned to school after the winter break because they were undernourished.
Refugee Assistance through JFCS seeks helpers for newly arrived Afghan or Ukraine Refugee families to settle into their new home! Become a member of a Temple Isaiah team, to help JFCS enroll their children in school, help them find work, and become familiar with their surroundings etc. Please contact Lisa Hirsch at lhirsch17@gmail.com if you are interested or have any questions. JFCS can also use our help with the following:
1. ESL Tutors – This can be in person or via Zoom
2.Grocery Shopping for newcomers - buy groceries at your own expense and deliver
them to clients.
3. Adult Bikes – JFCS needs adult bikes in any condition.
4. Gift Cards – Target, Visa, Amazon and Safeway are preferred but they are grateful
for anything. You can send them to the JFCS office at 2151 Salvio Street, Suite
350, Concord CA 94520 attn: Volunteer Services.
Join the Multi-faith ACTION Coalition to tackle the root causes of poverty. People from all faith backgrounds meet to identify issues, research potential solutions, and advocate by meeting with elected local and state officials, attending legislative visits, supporting bills, and writing letters. Contact Doug Leich, leichd@gmail.com to be connected with the task forces you wish to join. https://www.multifaithactioncoalition.org/newsletter/2022
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Get Involved in Bay Area Environmental Actions. Receive useful information regarding local Bay Area actions and events dedicated to fighting the climate crisis. https://350contracosta.org
Every Voice, Every Vote Campaign, the Reform Jewish Movement’s 2022 is a nonpartisan effort, grounded in our Jewish values and commitment to racial justice, to strengthen our democracy. Democracy is strongest when the electorate reflects the population. This is how we fulfill the Talmudic teaching that a ruler is not to be appointed unless the community is first consulted. https://rac.org/take-action/every-voice-every-vote
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Mental Health Support for Adults: Second Sundays from 3-5pm online. Whether you are struggling with Covid, going through a difficult period or have ongoing mental health issues, join us for our free monthly drop-in support group. We provide an opportunity to share and support one another as part of a nonjudgmental, caring community.
Mental Health Support for Family Members: Fourth Mondays from 7-8:30pm online. Are you a family member of an adult with mental health issues? This free drop-in support group provides information as well as the opportunity to share and support each other as you learn to help your loved one. Facilitated by licensed clinical social worker, Rosemarie Frydman, NAMI certified trainer Karen Cohen, and Diana MaKieve.
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To contribute information to this monthly VIA newsletter, please contact co-editors
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