November 2022

CLUB CHESED EVENT: NOVEMBER 6 

GIVING THANKS TO THOSE WHO HELP US

It is still ok to RSVP until November 4!

Mark your calendars for our upcoming Club Chesed events -

• November 6 - Showing our gratitude to those who help us.
• December 25 -Decorate for the Community Holiday Dinner
• January 8 - Helping animals
• February 5 - Planting a tree at Many Mansions for Tu B'Shavat
• March 5 - Purim Carnival
• April 23 - Mitzvah Day
• May 7 - Helping seniors

Watch this video to hear directly from donors about how meaningful it is to donate blood 

DONATE CHILDREN'S TOYS

DONATE GIFT CARDS FOR

HARBOR HOUSE'S ADOPT A FAMILY

Harbor House is collecting gift cards that will be given out as holiday gifts to their clients. 

In 2021, Harbor House distributed gift cards and toys to over 1,000 children and 400 families in the local community for the holidays. This year TAE is helping them by collecting $25 gift cards for Target, Walmart and Ralphs. If you can help, please deliver the gift cards to the Social Action mailbox in the temple office by 11/22. Please email socialaction@adatelohim.com with any questions.

HELP COOK HOT MEALS FOR THOSE IN NEED

DISTRIBUTED BY HARBOR HOUSE

For the last year, On the last Sunday of each month, TAE partners have been providing a delicious hot meal to 60 clients of Harbor House. That is 660 meals! Volunteers prepare a part of the meal at home and then bring it to TAE to put the items into to-go boxes that are then delivered to Harbor House. Thank you to each and every volunteer who makes this happen and to Michele Zinn and Karen Begun who are coordinating the meals.

Our next meal is on Sunday, November 27. 

MAKE LUNCHES FOR HARBOR HOUSE

Temple Adat Elohim members are providing "to-go" bagged lunches and cases of water every Monday.

We currently have open slots every Monday

November- December

Preparing these lunches is a great activity for family and friends to do together at home.

Lunches made, bags decorated by The Miller Family!

Harbor House also has a sign up list to bring lunches other days of the week.

To sign up for Tuesday - Sunday visit the Harbor House sign up page directly.

INTERFAITH THANKSGIVING SERVICE

Pies are needed for the Thanksgiving Service. 

If you are able to bake or purchase a pie (no pumpkin), please drop it off at either:

• 11/23 at 5:30 pm at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at 35 S. Wendy Rd, Newbury Park

or

• 11/23 at 1 p.m. at Temple Adat Elohim

Please email socialaction@adatelohim.com to sign up.

Sunday, November 20

10:30 a.m.- 12:00 p.m.

at a local park

We will be meeting from 10:30 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. at a local park.

• Join us as we make hats, scarfs and blankets that will be gifted to local charities for distribution.

• You don't need to know how to knit or crochet. Bring your yarn and needles and someone will help you get started.

• Currently we are making adult hats, scarfs and lap blankets to be given out at the Community Holiday Dinner on Christmas Day.

RSVP is required so we can contact you in case of a change of location.

Completed projects can be dropped off to the box in the TAE office from November 13- December 1.

COMMUNITY HOLIDAY DINNER

Community Holiday Dinner Volunteer Sign ups

We are very excited to be hosting the 28th Annual Community Holiday Dinner which will be held on December 25, 2022 at Temple Adat Elohim.

This year the dinner will once again be a "drive-thru" format. 

Volunteers are needed to prep/package desserts, decorate, serve food, guide guests in the parking lot and bring cheer! 

The volunteer sign ups will open the Monday after Thanksgiving. TAE partners will receive an email with the sign up link on Monday, November 28.

Questions?: Email taeholidaydinner@gmail.com

We are finding that the expenses for the Community Holiday Dinner have gone up this year. We would appreciate any donations to help defray the costs.  

Temple Adat Elohim has formed a committee to explore non-partisan ways that we can help to end gun violence. If you are interested in helping with this committee, click here.

Through the committee's initial research, it found that our goals most closely align with Moms Demand Action.

“Moms Demand Action is a grassroots movement of Americans fighting for public safety measures that can protect people from gun violence. We pass stronger gun laws and work to close the loopholes that jeopardize the safety of our families. We also work in our own communities and with business leaders to encourage a culture of responsible gun ownership. We know that gun violence is preventable, and we’re committed to doing what it takes to keep families safe.”

We would also like to examine this issue from a Jewish perspective and are looking into the coalition that the Jewish Committee on Public Affairs is developing.

Every month we will be letting you know several ways you can get involved in both smaller or larger ways, depending on your time and comfort level. We will also be providing ways for our teens to get involved.

The first thing you can do is download the "Demand Action - Ending gun violence" app and enter you zip code to learn about local, state, and federal initiatives.

We are planning an education and advocacy event for January.

Please email socialaction@adatelohim.com if you would like to receive emails about further ways to participate.

We look forward to partnering with the TAE community to help reduce gun violence.

Over the last year, the Conejo Interfaith Refugee Team has been assisting newly arrived refugees as they are settling into their new homes. Many of the families are from Afghanistan, and some are also from Central America and Ukraine. There are several ways that you can help.

• Help deliver donated furniture to the refugees in their new homes either by having/driving a truck or doing the heavy lifting. Most of the deliveries are in the Conejo/San Fernando Valley areas and happen on the weekends.

• We assisted a family of 6 from Ukraine who moved into an apartment in Glendale. If you are interested in helping this family navigate various life tasks (learning English, going to various appointments with them- DMV, schools, etc,), please send an email to socialaction@adatelohim.com.

• Additionally, the team is always accepting funds to help purchase the items that the families need. We have been providing them with household items, clothing, computers and occasionally a car! Click here to send a donation. (We appreciate the United Methodist Church of Westlake Village for coordinating these donated funds on behalf of the refugee team.)

The next Social Action Committee meeting

will be

Monday, November 7

at 7 p.m. via Zoom

Get your t-shirt now so you can wear it with pride every time you volunteer. We hope everyone will have a shirt so that we can show our TAE spirit when we volunteer in the community. Shirts are $25 and can be ordered here.

HIGH HOLIDAY FOOD DRIVE

Thank you once again to our generous TAE community. Manna Conejo Food Pantry was thrilled to receive over 3600 pounds of food and an additional $3000 in cash from our High Holiday Food Drive. A huge thank you to Liz Oliver for once again coordinating the drive,  Trader Joe's for donating all the grocery bags, to the members of  Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who helped collect the bags on Yom Kippur, and to the TAE volunteers who helped staple the flyers and distribute the bags.

CLUB CHESED MAKING GIGGLE BAGS FOR CHILDREN AT TARZANA HOSPITAL

On Sunday, October 2, Club Chesed Families made 48 Giggle bags for children at Tarzana Hospital. These beautifully decorated bags were filled with a stuffed animal, crayons, coloring books, fidget toys and much more. After we dropped them off, one of the nurses wrote: "They have already put so many smiles on the faces of some amazing children who have not been feeling their best. We truly appreciate what you and your families have done for our patients."   

RELAY FOR LIFE

On Saturday, October 1, Temple Adat Elohim's Relay for Life Team (Team TAE) raised $5021 for the American Cancer Society and was the 3rd highest fundraiser out of 29 teams! Thank you to Steve Forman and Nick Frankle for organizing the team and for all those who participated..

HALLOWEEN COSTUME DRIVE

Thank you to everyone who donated costumes for children in need.  The costumes were delivered to The Bookworm Projekt who then distributed them along with books to children at the Westminster Free Clinic in Oxnard.