TZEDAKAH OPPORTUNITIES

Our Tzedakah work at T.I. continues to be an important and vibrant element in the life of our temple and in the fulfillment of our values around Social Justice and Tikkun Olam. The many opportunities to serve the less fortunate and provide for the welfare of our community are a reflection of the values we continue to hold closely at T.I. Many dedicated leaders continue to provide us all with opportunities to be involved.

Here are the current opportunities to serve:

• Temple Isaiah Annual Blood Drive
  
• Rotating leadership to organize and staff the event
• Last year: 65 presenting donors of which 53 were productive
• This year's Blood Drive will be held Tuesday, May 27, 2008 from 2pm to 7pm
  

• Project Ezra
  
• This is a jointly led endeavor by Temple Isaiah and Temple Shir Tikvah, Winchester
  
• The leadership team includes BJ Rudman, Gloria Levine, Laurel Smith, Heidi Logan, Peggy Albrecht, and Lisa Boodman
  
• Adults and children prepare and deliver meals to non-Jewish families in our community on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
  
• With generous food donations and the efforts of 150 members participating last year, we prepared and delivered 164 holiday dinner packages for 59 families in need.
  

• Bristol Lodge
  
  • Marge Albin and Linda Ziffrin are the coordinators
    
  • We serve Bristol Lodge on the first Sunday of every month
    
  • Each Sunday, we have 9 to 10 different cooks who make salad and chicken
    
  • We have about 20 different cooks and are currently recruiting additional chefs
    
  • From an impact standpoint, we are feeding the whole lodge once every month

• Habitat 4 Humanity
  
• Participation in H4H homebuilding is conducted with participation by our Hebrew School.
  
• The Social Action Committee provides financial support when funds are available
  

• Jewish Family Table
  
• Bill Friedman is the coordinator
  
• This year Temple Isaiah renewed our commitment to deliver 3 items on a monthly basis to the JFT collection point (60 units of tomato, 60 of rice, 40 of canned fruit).
  
• The religious school grades are responsible for helping us meet our monthly goal.
  
• In general, the High Holiday food drop-off results in an amazing amount of donations each fall. However, the monthly supplies (with the religious school and general temple community donating in the bins inside the entrance) are sporadic and at times don't meet our monthly donation targets.
  
• The Social Action Committee provides financial support when funds are available
  

• Lexington Food Pantry
  
• Joanne Frolich is our Lexington Food Pantry leader
  
• We provide four volunteers, twice a month, to manage the distribution of food for the Lexington Food Pantry on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month
  
• 25 regular volunteers.
  
• About 70 needy recipients, pre-approved by the Dept. of Social Services, are served on a given Saturday.
  

• Literacy Group
  
• Rosemary Putnam is our Literacy Group leader
  
• Currently 8 tutors are participating – 7 T.I. members and 1 Emunah member
  
• New tutors undergo training at the beginning of the school year
  
• Tutoring is conducted at the Haggerty Elementary School in Cambridge
  
• Rosemary Putnam writes: “We can tell by the eagerness with which the children greet us and their ease with us that they value our time together; both tutor and student are positively impacted by the experience and the relationship.”
  

• Mitzvah Day
  
• Now organized and conducted by an independent temple committee, this important and energizing event held in May is a significant component of Temple Isaiah’s Tikkun Olam Chesed work.
  
• The Social Action Committee provides financial support when funds are available

Volunteers are always welcome. This is important work and we are blessed to be able to perform these mitzvahs. If you’d like to get more information or to find out how you can get involved – email Chuck and/or Don at and we’ll point you in the right direction!