Social Action and Community Service
Adas Israel offers its members many ways to participate in the mitzvah of Tzedakah, Tikkun Olam ("repairing the world") and Gemilut Chasadim ("acts of loving kindness"). View the new Social Action at Adas Israel Brochure (download pdf)
Social Action Council		Highlights
Missions and Goals Adas Israel Purpose Through Torah, Tefillah, Tzedakah, and Tikkun Olam (study, prayer, righteous deeds, and repairing the world) Adas Israel works to strengthen our congregation, our community, the Jewish people, and the State of Israel. Social Action Council Mission To create volunteer opportunities for members of Adas Israel to act together to do Tzedakah and Tikkun Olam in order to further the Congregation's purpose.  We are grateful to the Jacob and Charlotte Lehrman Foundation for their generous support of our social action projects. Focus of the Social Action Council To involve the Congregation directly in community service actions to address social and economic problems and issues affecting families and individuals in need in the Washington, DC area, the nation, and the world.  (Note: The Council's work is primarily directed towards the greater community and is not targeted to addressing individual needs of members of the Congregation.)  The Council's focus includes: initiation, implementation, and expansion of volunteer opportunities for Congregational members to participate in direct service projects and improving communications concerning such opportunities within the Congregation; providing a forum for discussion and promoting public education concerning social action and community service issues; proposing and advocating Congregational positions on critical current social action policy issues; raising funds to address local, national or international crises; evaluation of the effectiveness and impact of Social Action Council projects.		» Darfur Vigils... at the Embassies of Sudan and China. Details on updated flyer, including dates for May, June, and July » Hanukkah - Tu B'Shevat CFL Sale a Success! More... » Update from the Social Action Council (from September Chronicle). » Download Rabbi Feinberg's Erev Rosh Hashanah Sermon, "The Community is Responsible"   If you'd like to learn more about becoming a member of the Council, if you'd like to be in our volunteer database, or if you have an idea for a project, contact Social Action Chair Joel Fischman (fischman@comcast.net or 202-364-8884). See below for projects and project leaders. See bottom of page to read criteria for selection of council projects.
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Ongoing Projects and Programs

Anne Frank House	December 25		MLK, Jr. Weekend
Bereavement	Ezra Pantry		Mens' Club Outreach
Bikkur Cholim	Green Committee		Save Darfur
Blood Drive	Help the Homeless Walk		Social Action for Israel
Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place	Luther Place Project		Sukkot in Spring

Anne Frank House... Provides permanent housing to nine formerly homeless men and women suffering from chronic mental illness in ten apartments in NW Washington. Acquires or rents and furnishes apartments, provides continuing liaison and support to residents, and contracts with social service agencies for case management, medical and psychiatric services required for independent living. Contacts: Adina Mendelson,  (301 652-6587, inmcareers@themendelsons.net) or Hazel Keimowitz (301 652-7617, hazel@keimowitz.com.) Click here to learn more about Anne Frank House (pdf).		AFH Contact Anne Frank House co presidents: Hazel Keimowitz, hazel@keimowitz.com Adina Mendelson, inmcareers@themendelsons.net.
Bereavement... The Bereavement Committee helps members with minyan in their homes and other needs during the shiva mourning period. The Rabbis and Executive Director are available to congregants who suffer the loss of a close relative. In association with the Washington Area Funeral Practices Committee, Adas Israel offers a low-cost, traditional religious funeral option. The Bereavement Committee supplements the role of the clergy by assisting the family with these funeral arrangements. Contact		Bereavement Committee Contact Jane Beller, jkbeller@comcast.net Edie Hessel, ahessel@psinet.com.
Bikkur Cholim... A committee from Adas Israel coordinates regular visits to congregants who reside in Washington area nursing homes or are patients in local hospitals.		Bikkur Cholim Committee Contact Rabbi Miller, rabbi.miller@adasisrael.org
Annual Synagogue Blood Drive held in partnership with the American Red Cross (and organized by our Sisterhood)... Sunday, May 20, 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. The current blood supply in the National Capital Area is very low, particularly due to the cold winter, recent emergencies, and the limited shelf life of blood. This is a wonderful opportunity to participate in the mitzvah of pikuach nefesh (saving a life). Please help Adas Israel fulfill its commitment of at least 70 donors. Drop-ins will be welcome as time allows; however, reservations are strongly recommended.  Good news! American Red Cross Celebrates inclusion of Magen David Adom into Worldwide Organization. Read more...		Blood Drive Contact SisterhoodCares@adasisrael.org to reserve a slot, if you have any questions, or if you are unable to donate blood and would like to make an in-kind donation to Magen David Adom.
Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place... CCHFP's mission is to enable people in the upper Northwest area of the District of Columbia who are, or have been, at risk of homelessness to rebuild their lives with the involvement of the community. (Read more...). Adas Israel has a seat on the CCHFP board (currently occupied by Seth Rosenthal). CCHFP refers clients to Anne Frank House and provides social services and counseling for nearly all of Anne Frank House clients. CURRENT NEED at CCHFP: Donations of Men’s new underwear (sizes 32 thru 38) and tube socks (size 10-13). Contact Seth Rosenthal (Day: 202-344 4741, H: 202-966 7407 or srosenthal@venable.com) or drop off at 3512 Northampton St, NW.		CCHFP Contact Seth Rosenthal sar2tms@comcast.net
December 25... Volunteer at N Street Village. This is a one day volunteer service project at Bethany House, a women's shelter in N Street, DC, which includes preparation and serving of meals to residents, helping organize and provide entertainment, and assisting facility staff so that they can enjoy their holiday.		December 25 Contact Jamie Butler, butler364@aol.com At left, volunteers lead the women of N Street Village in Christmas Carols
Ezra Pantry Food Collection... is a collection of food at the Synagogue for distribution to Capital City Food Bank, the largest food distribution center in the city. Special extra collections as part of the nationwide Project Isaiah on Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur and a special collection in the weeks prior to Passover with the extra support of SunTrust Bank and Magruders' Market.		Ezra Pantry Contact Linda Rosenzweig, LRosenzweig@seyfarth.com
Green Committee... Join the recently formed Green Committee and help develop strategies to reduce energy usage in the synagogue building, educate congregants to reduce energy usage at home and become involved in environmental projects in the community. Learn more... visit our webpage		Green Committee Contact Wendy Rudolph wsr99@aol.com
Help the Homeless Walk... Sunday, October 21. 2007 The Help Homeless Walk, which takes place each fall, raises funds to help the Anne Frank House. Interested individuals can sign up to walk (to and from Rock Creek Park) or to sponsor a walker. Date, time, and other details become available closer to the time of the walk. The 5767 walk (November 2006) helped raise $6,000! Local business sponsors are invited to participate in the walk.		Help the Homeless Walk Contact Seth Rosenthal sar2tms@comcast.net
Luther Place Project... Involves preparation and deliver of monthly meals to Luther Place homeless shelter in DC. We need 9 - 10 volunteers each month to contribute part of a meal for 30 women at the Luther Place/N Street Village homeless shelter in DC and one person to deliver the food. Participate once in a while or every month. Contribute something simple like 30 apples or an entrée for 10. All contributions welcome!		Luther Place Contact Toni Bickart, 202-244-2747 or toni@teachingstrategies.com
Martin Luther King, Jr. Weekend... Save Friday and Sunday, January 19 and 21, 2008 for the next MLK Jr. joint observance with Peoples Congregational United Church of Christ. Guest speaker at our Friday night service will be Congressman John Conyers, Jr. See the December Chronicle for article.		MLK Weekend Contact Joel Fischman fischman@comcast.net
Men's Club Outreach... Help lead monthly Shabbat services at local assisted living locations. Additional community projects take place throughout the year, such as delivering baskets of food to the needy before Rosh HaShanah, Thanksgiving, and Passover.		Men's Club Outreach Contact Steve Goldstein stephen_m_goldstein@hud.gov
Adas Israel Stands with the People of Darfur... Join us for monthly vigils in front of the Embassy of China (note new location: China is Sudan's biggest supporter!), located at 2300 Connecticut Ave, NW, on the third Sunday from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. If you cannot make the Sunday vigils, consider attending a community-wide vigil at the Sudanese Embassy, 2210 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, (3 blocks from the Dupont Circle Metro) on the fourth Thursday, noon - 1 p.m. For more information on recent Darfur-related events, visit www.savedarfur.org or http://www.ajws.org. Light the Fires for Darfur: Purchase solar cookers for the over 2 million people in resettlement camps in Darfur. Each cooker costs $5.00. Make checks payable to Adas Israel and mark "solar cookers' in the memo line. Give the gift of light and life from your family as we celebrate Jewish survival and pray for those in need in Darfur, Sudan.		EVENTS » Vigils (2008): May 18 & 22, June 15 & 26, July 20 & 24. See updated flyer for locations and times Darfur Vigils Contact Vigils info: Laura Cutler, mbcutler@aol.com or 301-980-7182 Other Darfur Events / Projects Contact: (or to join the advocacy e-mail list) Judy Herr,  jnherr20814@yahoo.com
Social Action for Israel... American Jews often see Israel as wealthy, but many Israelis are poor or have special needs. How do we choose among the hundreds of organizations that conduct social action projects for Israel? The mission of Social Action for Israel is to mobilize Adas Israel's support for several carefully selected projects, not only to help meet Israel's needs, but also to introduce congregants to some of these needs and to foster links between congregants and Israel. SAFI Mission Statement Our Projects  * BINA co-op - provides staples to lower-income residents of south Tel Aviv  * Yad Hamoreh School in Jerusalem for autistic children  Read About Poverty in Israel 2006 annual report, by Israeli Government's National Insurance Institute Israel Poverty: One in Three Children Are Hungry," by Israel News Agency		SAFI Contact Jon Medalia, mvpepper@comcast.net  To Donate Make contributions payable to: Adas Israel Congregation with “Social Action Council: BINA Co-op” or “Social Action Council: Yad Hamoreh” in the memo space.
Sukkot in Spring... Save Sunday, May 11, 2008 Sukkot in Spring (also known as Sukkot in April) is an annual all-volunteer program that operates under Yachad, Inc.'s annual home repair project. The synagogue assembles a team to renovate homes of area residents who are too elderly, disabled, or financially unable to tackle needed repairs on their own. Sukkot in April 2007 was a great success! Thanks to the Adas Israel volunteers who came out and our co-team members from Kol Shalom, we were able to make some lasting practical and attractive improvements to a home in northeast DC. The homeowner was very appreciative.		Sukkot in Spring Contact Ari Reeves, areeves@world.oberlin.edu Learn more about Yachad and Sukkot in April: http://www.yachad-dc.org/sukkot.shtml.
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Criteria for Selection of Social Action Council Projects
In selecting future projects, the Council will consider the extent to which a possible social action project meets one or more of the following criteria: Does the project engage congregants in direct action or community service that seeks to address real social and economic needs of families and individuals and also offer the potential for sustainable or systemic solutions to social ills? Does the project involve policy issues that must be addressed in order to create more permanent solutions to social, economic, or community issues or concerns? Does the project fall within the following specific program areas that the Council has established as its main priorities: Food and Hunger, Housing and Homelessness, Community Outreach, Social and Economic Justice? Does the project include strong leadership that is sufficient, or likely to become sufficient, to organize, manage, and sustain the work on an ongoing basis? The Social Action Council will also continue to support existing service action projects of the Congregation and its auxiliaries that are already in place. However, the Council will encourage groups within the synagogue that are implementing these projects to consider the above criteria in assessing the value and effectiveness of such projects.
<back to top> last updated November 27, 2007

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