Social Action Committee - Congregation Agudath Israel

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THe Social Action committee

Social Action Committee volunteers partnered with the League of Women Voters to help Essex County residents register to vote on National Voter Registration Day.

The Social Action Committee was established to engage the CAI community in performing acts of Tikkun Olam (Repair the World), and to implement a foundation for strong values.

OUR MISSION is to promote justice and compassion within the Jewish community and society-at-large. This includes activities with other religious groups and diverse communities.

SOCIAL ACTION COMMITTEE is a participating member of the following organizations:
• Family Promise of Essex County
• Northern New Jersey Sanctuary Coalition
• Local Community Food Pantries, including Toni's Kitchen in Montclair and the Caldwell Food Pantry
• Habitat for Humanity

ANNUAL AND ONGOING EVENTS include:
• Biannual hosting of temporarily displaced families being housed by Family
Promise of Essex County.
• Weekly participation in the First Presbyterian Church at Caldwell's Soup
  Kitchen
  • Providing assistance to individual asylum seekers through the
  following methods: transportation, medical/dental treatment, job leads,
  daily activities, computer access, clothing, as well as interfacing
  with governmental agencies for advice and counseling
• Perpetual food drive for the local community food pantry
• Programming to discuss modern day issues
• Constructing homes in surrounding communities with Habitat for
  Humanity
• Collaborations with other CAI volunteer groups, including:
The Environmental Committee
The Interfaith Committee
The Israel Committee
The Tzedek Initiative

December 11,2024 /
10 Kislev 5785

Soup Kitchen

Help Mitigate Hunger in Our Area! Led by our Social Action Committee, CAI is entering our second year participating in First Presbyterian Church's crucial program where community members prepare meals each week for the soup kitchen at Our Lady of the Valley in Orange, NJ. Make an impact in the lives of our neighbors — please consider preparing a dish; recipes are provided and aluminum pans can be picked up from the office. Drop off is only on Wednesdays in the First Pres. staff parking lot on Westville Ave. from 4:00-5:00 pm.

Click Here for more information and to sign up. If you have questions, please be in touch with committee chair Karen Eisenberg.

(Note: Because this is a partnership with First Pres, instructions don't assume a kosher kitchen, but please volunteer for meals you can prepare in your own kitchen).

CAI members share their Social Action experience...

Each year, I feel so proud and grateful that the CAI Social Action Committee participates in the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Essex County, because it's the right thing to do. It enables us all to not just "talk the talk" but to "walk the walk". I think of our guests as a wonderful variety of distinct individuals, each with their own characteristics, stories, skill sets and struggles - just like we all have. I always find it curious that I sign up with a sincere desire to help those less fortunate and to make it possible for CAI and all of us to do this important work, but always I find that it is I who is uplifted and transformed. There is always at least one person or family who has touched me so deeply that the world will never be the same.

—Anne Luria Burg, Member of CAI

“Tikkun Olam”, the Jewish imperative to “repair the world”, is at heart of CAI's Social Action Committee. Each participant contributes a little of his/her time and compassion, and together we make a difference in others people's lives. I am proud to be a part of CAI's hosting of 3 to 4 displaced families every summer and participate in providing assistance to the asylum seekers. As these people are trying to cope with the stress of losing their homes, they find a warm welcome when they come to CAI and can take some comfort in knowing someone cares. The same can be said for the two political asylees the Social Action Committee has supported. Small gestures; like driving them to the DMV or inviting them to dinner takes an effort on my part but I know it is helping the political asylees make a new life in the U.S and conveys the important message they are not alone”

—Amy Dell, Member of CAI

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December 11,2024 / 10 Kislev 5785