August/September 2022

In this issue...


Did You Renew Yet?

Support HugPacks with Long Beach Gives

Thursday Night Movie Club

Abortion Care in California: How We Can Help

Help Make Abortion After-Care Kits

Get Out the Vote

Caring Corner Is Back

Join Working Groups for Abortion Justice and Voting Rights

Save the Date

Have Your Renewed Your Membership?

Annual membership dues letters were mailed last month. If as an annual member you haven't renewed yet, please mail a check for $54 to NCJW - GLB & WOC, 3801 E. Willow St., Long Beach, CA 90815.


NCJW – GLB & WOC is a 501(c)(3) organization which depends on your support to fulfill its mission. All contributions are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.

Ready, Set, & (Almost) GO!
Support HugPacks
NOW through Thursday, September 22, virtual

Mark September 22 as Long Beach Gives Day for our HugPacks Project!


Breaking News: We have secured extraordinary matching funds from the Jack and Binnie Berro Family$10,000!!! 

Thank you SO much!


We’re so excited to be participating in Long Beach Gives 2022, raising funds to support our HugPacks Project to help ease the needs of youth entering the foster care system in our area. Can you even imagine what these kids go through when they are suddenly taken away from their families with few or no possessions?  Costs to buy and fill the backpacks have greatly increased, while the case numbers -- over 3,000 last year in South LA County alone -- continue to grow.  Did you know an $18 donation would cover the entire cost of a HugPack full of essentials? We’re the only organization doing this for our local foster kids, and we want to continue to give at least 600 HugPacks a year to the LA County Dept. of Children and Family Services.  If we’re successful, maybe we can give even more! 


But we don't get that gift unless we ALL pull together and raise matching dollars. All donations will be counted towards our match from today forward, till midnight on September 22, so please don’t hesitate!

You can give NOW by sending a check made out to NCJW with HugPacks in the memo line to NCJW, 3801 E. Willow St., Long Beach, CA 90815.


You’ll be able to WATCH and HELP MAKE our funds grow in real time on Long Beach Gives Day (September 22) and all of the week before, Sept. 15 - 22, at longbeachgives.org/ncjw.


If you love the Berros and want to support a cause dear to them, you can really make a big difference in this effort by getting the word out about this time-limited campaign. We can set up a “Peer Fundraiser” webpage for you that you can tell your friends about and ask them to give to your mini-campaign within the big campaign. To sign up, email us at our temp email address ncjwglbwoc@gmail.com. Thank you in advance for caring about some of the most vulnerable children in our community. YOU can help us make a difference in foster kids' lives!

4th Thursday NCJW Movie Club

Thursday, August 25 and September 22, 7 pm, Zoom

August 25, 7 pm, Zoom: Belfast

Belfast, 15 August 1969. Surrounded by sporadic violence and growing danger, nine-year-old Buddy finds himself confronted with the ugly reality of sectarian conflict. And, as the suffocating stranglehold of increasing turmoil tightens around his once-peaceful working-class neighborhood, Buddy tries his best to understand the troubles; after all, someone must be responsible for forcing people to flee their homes. Now, Buddy's family must come face to face with a nearly impossible, life-altering decision: stay or start packing? You can watch on Amazon Prime. 


Register in advance here for the Zoom discussion



September 22, 7 pm, Zoom: Operation Mincemeat

In the context of WW2 narratives, the story of Operation Mincemeat is unique -- a bizarre and seductive cinematic blend of high-level espionage and ingenious fiction, where the stakes could hardly be higher. Michelle Ashford's script fuses multiple strands and moods: tense, romantic, thrilling, unexpectedly funny, and endlessly surprising. It tells a richly human story of the soldiers we seldom see, who fight a different kind of war in shadows and deception, haunted by the knowledge that certainty and guarantee of success are nowhere to be found.

Register in advance here for the Zoom discussion

Panel Discussion:

Abortion Care in California: Current and Future Challenges and How We Can Help

Wednesday, September 7, 7 pm, Zoom


In response to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe and almost 50 years of abortion rights, we are hosting an advocacy-focused panel on abortion care in California.


Topics will include a briefing on state legislative action, current and future access to full reproductive health care services for in-state and out-of-state patients, and abortion funding for those needing care. Speakers from Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties and from Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project (WRRAP) will bring us up to date. 


Learn how you can help! 


Register here for a Zoom link for this program.

New Project: Donate Supplies for

Abortion After-Care Kits

for Planned Parenthood

Saturday & Sunday, Sept. 10 & 11, 10 am – 2 pm

in front of the JCC

Feel like a you’ve been losing choices and options lately?  GET RID OF THAT FEELING!  


In conjunction with our Advocacy committee’s Abortion Access and Reproductive Rights work, we have a NEW Community Service project! Help us gather the supplies for Abortion After-Care Kits which we'll be donating to Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties for their clients. Please email us at ncjwglbwoc@gmail.com if you can volunteer for a 2-hour shift.


These little bags contain comfort items (snacks and hygiene supplies) given to patients by Planned Parenthood after a procedure (but only if we provide them!).


Here is what we need: 

  • individually wrapped menstrual pads
  • disposable heat patches
  • travel-size hand sanitizer
  • individually wrapped hand wipes
  • small individual packs of Oreo cookies
  • Luna bars 
  • individually wrapped black and herbal tea bags  
  • 8 oz bottles of water
  • hair ties


If you'd prefer to donate online for this project ($7 covers a complete kit), since our website is still down, contact us at ncjwglbwoc@gmail.com to discuss.


And if you can help assemble (date yet to be arranged), please email Andrea Friedenthal at ncjwglbwoc@gmail.com.


See the “Save the Date” section below to read about other upcoming community service opportunities! Express your priorities and put the dates on your calendar!  Please RSVP to ncjwglbwoc@gmail.com to volunteer or get more info.

Help Get Out the Vote

Monday, Sept. 12, 4 pm, outside a member's home


You are invited to help us GET OUT THE VOTE with postcards to low-propensity voters. We are writing non-partisan postcards for Reclaim Our Vote, an initiative of the Center for Common Ground, and letters for Vote Forward.


We have everything you need to get started. If you’d like us to provide a kit, contact Deb Lelchuk via ncjwglbwoc@gmail.com.


Let’s help GOTV in eight target states (Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas) and have fun doing it! 


We’ll be gathering outside at a member’s Long Beach home on Monday, Sept 12 at 4 pm. We can accommodate up to 10 people, so get your RSVP In to ncjwglbwoc@gmail.com.

The Caring Corner is Back!

Jeanne Halliday is our new chairperson, and she is waiting for your calls and emails! We strongly encourage you to let Jeanne know about such things as illnesses, deaths, simchas, honors, etc., in our community.


You can look up Jeanne's phone number or email in the Membership Directory, or you can email us at ncjwglbwoc@gmail.com to request a card to be mailed.

Join Our Voting and Elections Working Group

Voting and elections are a top priority for our Section. We are forming a working group to help plan and lead Section voting and election efforts through the November 2022 election. Topics to be explored include voter registration, Vote Forward letter writing, partnering with organizations like the League of Women Voters, and voting access for marginalized communities.  


Let us know if you’d like:

(a)  To be part of the working group, 

(b)  To help with voter registration and/or Vote Forward, or 

(c)  More information on how best to participate. 


We need you and your ideas! Contact the chairperson, Chana Ham-Rosebrock, via ncjwglbwoc@gmail.com

Join Our Abortion Justice Working Group

For too long, the narrative in this country about abortion and religion belies the Jewish story: in Judaism, abortion is not only permitted, but sometimes required. National Council of Jewish Women, along with our allies and partners, has launched a new Jewish movement for abortion justice: 73 Forward. Our section has begun to explore programming options for this campaign, and our Advocacy Committee would like to form a working group. 


If you’d like to help us plan educational programs, advocate for legislation, and/or mobilize organized actions in support of reproductive rights, health, and justice for all, please email ncjwglbwoc@gmail.com. We’d love to have you join us in the fight! 

Mark Your Calendars...Save the Date

Thursday, Sept. 1: Board Meeting, 7 pm, Zoom. RSVP here.


Thursday, October 6: Board Meeting, 7 pm, Zoom. RSVP here.


Thursday, October 9: Welcome Back, Welcome into the Sukkah to celebrate NCJW and its membership, JCC Atrium, early afternoon. Food, entertainment, fun! Proof of vaccination and masking required. For info or to help, email  ncjwglbwoc@gmail.com.


Thursday, Oct. 13: Preparing for the Propositions, 6 pm, Temple Israel, 269 Loma Ave, L.B. 90804. Hear from the League of Women Voters; be prepared when you vote in the upcoming midterm election! NCJW COVID protocols will be followed, masks and vaccinations required. In person and livestreamed.


Saturday & Sunday, Oct. 15 & 16: Sukkot Food Drive, in front of JCC, 10 am – 2 pm. Let’s share our harvest bounty with those less fortunate!  We are collecting packaged food for needy college students that are coming back to school at LBCC. More info next month, or check our website for a food list. Please email ncjwglbwoc@gmail.com  if you can volunteer for a 2-hour shift.


Thursday, Nov. 10 – Sunday, Nov 13, Winter Coat Drive, in front of JCC, Thursday hours 11 am – 2 pm, Fri. – Sun., 10 am – 2 pm. Bring ‘em one and all!  Any size, and blankets or caps too!  Please email ncjwglbwoc@gmail.com if you can volunteer for a 2-hour shift.

JOIN US ON SOCIAL MEDIA!

Like us and follow us on social media and help us share NCJW events and advocacy programs with others!

HOW TO REACH US -- NOTE NEW EMAIL ADDESS:


Email us at ncjwglbwoc@gmail.com, or send mail to NCJW Greater Long Beach & West Orange County, 3801 E. Willow St., Long Beach, CA 90815.