Changes Coming Due to New Dane County
COVID Rules
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As most of you likely know, as of June 2, all public health orders in Dane County will be lifted, including mask requirements and gathering limits. That is absolutely great news if you have received the COVID-19 vaccine. However, not everyone has received it. Older adults are generally at higher risk if they become infected with the virus. Some who are immunocompromised may not be able to be vaccinated or the vaccine isn't effective. Others may have a different reason for not being vaccinated. And of course, no one under the age of twelve is even eligible for the vaccine. So what do we do about all of those people with regards to meeting in person?
So what is changing at JSS?
We are taking a wait-and-see approach. Our social programs will primarily remain virtual, at least through mid-June. When we do meet in person, people will need to be six feet apart (see above at the Capital Lake Shabbat with Rabbi Renee Bauer). We are looking for opportunities to have a couple of outdoor events, including a World Refugee Day Celebration on June 20th. Staff are beginning to meet with clients in person, with those meetings held outdoors whenever possible.
Our staff continue to wear masks when meeting clients indoors and have the clients do the same. We are not currently asking for proof of vaccination, so this strategy avoids singling anyone out.
We are waiting to hear from Dane County Human Services, but we do hope to have Lechayim start up again in person in the fall. We will keep you posted.
In the meantime, please let us know if you need anything. And we do still have some funds for transportation for people age 60 and above. Please reach out to us if you could use a door-to-door ride.
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TO JOIN ZOOM PROGRAMS: Watch out for an email, or go to www.jssmadison.org/calendar and choose a program by date. Click on the event title to open up a new window that will have details and a Zoom link for that program. We send out email notices with links for Monday Yoga and End of Week Zoom Programs every Monday and Wednesday. If you are not on that email list, but wish to be – please let us know.
Recordings of past Zoom programs are available on JSS’ YouTube channel. There is also a link to the channel on www.jssmadison.org under the Communications menu.
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Join JSS on Mondays for Schmoozing at 11am and
Yoga From A Chair at 11:30am
With Betsy Haimson
Meeting ID: 406 575 567
Join by phone: (312) 626-6799, 406 575 567#
No Schmoozing and Yoga May 31
For questions about Zoom programs, call Paul Borowsky at (608) 442-4083.
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Yoga Monday on a Friday
Friday, May 28 from 10:30 – 11:30 am
Haven’t been able to make yoga on Mondays – here’s your chance to try it out on Friday (still on Zoom). We will also have some time to catch up with each other. How have you been? Can we make plans for in-person programming yet? What have agencies, synagogues and others been trying? What are you looking forward to, and what is your assessment of what will be comfortable and doable at this time?
Meeting ID: 406 575 567
Join by phone: (312) 626-6799, 406 575 567#
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Wisconsin Native Plant Garden at the UW Arboretum
with Susan Carpenter, Arboretum’s Wisconsin Native Plant Gardener
on Zoom Friday, June 11 from 3 – 4 pm
The Wisconsin Native Plant Garden, designed by landscape architect Darrel Morrison, is a place where people of all ages participate in land care and learn about native plants, restoration, pollinator conservation, and ecological relationships.
Join Susan who will share her 18 years of garden observations, chance events, and new questions which have led to rich educational opportunities, research, and community participation in science and stewardship.
Meeting ID: 818 3444 3011
Passcode: 664371
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Guided Tour at the Arboretum (In-person)
Friday, June 25 from 10:30 – 11:30 am
For further info, transportation options, and reservations – contact Paul Borowsky, paul@jssmadison.org, 608-442-4083
Located on 4 acres surrounding the Visitor Center, the native plant garden includes 15 groups of various garden types and hundreds of native Wisconsin species. The Garden introduces visitors to ecological restoration and diverse communities in the Arboretum and the region.
In the garden, you are likely to run into Susan Carpenter, the Arboretum’s Wisconsin Native Plant Gardener. She teamed up with garden designer Darrel Morrison to create the gardens, and works with staff colleagues, students, and community volunteers to care for and monitor the gardens.
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Volunteer Opportunities
As COVID restrictions continue and vaccines and protocols evolve, we want to thank all our volunteers for staying involved via telephone, internet and expanded holiday gift giving and deliveries. If you are interested in volunteering, opportunities may include no-contact delivery of groceries and other essentials, phone contact, tech support, and other tasks and projects. (Also see opportunities listed below)
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New opportunity: A refugee client needs help in studying for the written portion of their driver's exam. The volunteer would meet virtually for a few Saturdays with the client to assist them in their goal of becoming mobile! Please contact sam@jssmadison.org for more information.
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New Opportunity: Adult learners need your help with English language and literacy
It will involve an initial training session, gaining familiarity with lesson plans and materials prepared by Literacy Network staff, and weekly meetings with an adult learner. The summer session runs from May 24 through August 14, and the fall session begins in September and runs through mid-December. Until further notice, all meetings will continue to be online.
Research shows that adult learners with basic skills need individualized support. Through a unique model in which interns plan individual lessons delivered one-on-one by volunteer tutors, Literacy Network provides effective and efficient direct support to hundreds of adult learners each year. Staff creates personal education plans through a flexible curriculum and provides opportunities for follow-up and feedback between staff, clients, and volunteers.
Literacy Network tutor David Seligman writes, “Over the past few years, I have had the opportunity to tutor several different students from Mexico and Honduras. I was the first Jewish person that they had an opportunity to chat with and explore some of our religious observances. The exchange was not one way. These learners were equally enthused to share their Catholic backgrounds and rituals. There was no question that these exchanges did much to broaden each other's understanding and trust in each other. We were able to gradually expand and grow our mutual respect and appreciation for each other.”
To get further information about this opportunity, please contact JSS volunteer coordinator, Paul Borowsky, 608-442-4083 or paul@jssmadison.org. Check for further descriptions, specific training dates, applications, and other details on the Literacy Network website: https://www.litnetwork.org/
For further information on programs or volunteering contact me anytime: Paul Borowsky, paul@jssmadison.org, 608-442-4083
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A tribute gift is a meaningful way to convey sympathy to the bereaved, memorialize a loved one, commemorate a special occasion or honor a person’s life and accomplishments.
Your gift to Jewish Social Services made in honor or memory of this special person ensures a legacy that extends far into the future.
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ONLY ONE MONTH LEFT --
Transportation Program for Older Adults:
Significantly subsidized private rides
JSS is excited to have received a grant from Bader Philanthropies of Milwaukee to allow JSS to provide additional transportation support to ALL older adults throughout Dane County, specifically focusing on those with fewer resources. When JSS cannot find a volunteer driver, trips to and from medical appointments, grocery stores, and similar necessities will be made available for a maximum of $8.00, round trip, with fee waivers available.
If you know anyone who may benefit from this program, please let us know. We have it for our community. For transportation assistance, please contact us at (608) 442-4081 or office@jssmadison.org. We will connect you with one of our social workers who will be happy to help you access this service. We thank Bader Philanthropies for their interest in our community.
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Allstate Insurance – Cybersecurity for Older Adults
The one-hour virtual session is highly interactive and delivered by one or two presenters from Allstate and includes conversation, interactive elements and video.
One hour online session – several options throughout the month of June. Here is a link to view the upcoming sessions, which older adults can use to register for a session
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Stand Up and Move More!
Are sitting much of the day?
Learn how and why to get up and move
Four-weekly group health education sessions done over the phone – Starting June 8
Free for adults over the age of 55
Wisconsin Institute for Healthy Aging – Registration and further information here
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Download or read online our paper Connections newsletter. It has different stories and photos than you see in our electronic newsletter.
To reach our office, call (608) 442-4081*
*Please leave a message, we check the voicemail frequently, even when the building is closed.
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Recordings of our Zoom presentations and programs are available to view on JSS' YouTube channel.
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Do you have a vehicle that you no longer need???
Donate your car to JSS! The proceeds go directly to our programs.
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Advocating for Asylum Seekers
President Biden has ended the "Remain in Mexico" policy- formally called the Migrant Protection Protocols or MPP- program which forced asylum seekers on the southern border to return to Mexico as they awaited their cases to be heard by U.S immigration courts. The policy created a humanitarian disaster along the border.
Despite this vital step to restore the Asylum system in the United States, the administration has continued to use the former administration's interpretation of a law called Title 42 to keep the border largely closed to immigrants, supposedly to stop the spread of COVID-19 (though health experts say the measure does nothing to stop the disease and have called for it to be reversed.) The vast majority of people who cross the border now are being deported without any due process.
JSS joins HIAS in calling on the Biden administration to drop this policy. We urge you to urge your elected officials to pressure the administration to end this policy by signing onto this petition https://act.hias.org/page/27908/action/1.
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JSS is proud to be a beneficiary agency of: |
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