Thanks to the generosity of our members and guests at our High Holiday services and throughout the year, the Social Justice Committee has extra money to donate to the American Red Cross to aid their Disaster Relief in Alabama.  The Boad approved the Social Action Committee proposal to send $500 and it was sent immediately.

If you want to make a personal donation, it is as easy as texting REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross. During the donation process, you will be offered the option to specify your gift to disaster relief for tornado victims.

The Social Action Committee is sponsoring CHJ participation in the Inter-faith Youth 3-mile C.R.O.P Walk, through Westport, April 10, 2011, beginning at 1 pm, to raise funds to end hunger.  

The Teen Tzedakah Club is having a mini-mitzvah day on Sunday, April 3rd, when they will make 50+ bagged lunches for the Bridgeport Rescue Mission.

We want to take this opportunity to recognize and applaud the Teen Tzedakah Club.  With Laura Snow's help, we are growing CHJ's next generation of social justice makers.  The Club is active almost all year long, as they begin their school backpack project in August, make and sell baked goods at Adult Ed events, and use that money to conduct their own mitzvah day to benefit the Bridgport Rescue Mission.  They also sent 24 loomed hats to Save the Children.  Debby Ury made most of them but Abby Ulman, Emily Snow and Joan Shaw participated.

Dear members,

A big thank you to everyone who contributed to our tzedakah box at our annual T'B'Shevat seder on January 22nd.  We collected $335.50 for the CT Food Pantry, and that's not counting the checks members mailed their directly to the CT Food Pantry.  We are a wonderful generous community.

Food insecurity continues to be a growing problem across the nation and right here in our own communities.  Jewish values teach us that feeding the hungry (ha’akhalat reevim) is not charity, but the right thing to do.  For more information, visit The CT Food Bank at http://www.ctfoodbank.org/, and Mazon: The Jewish Response to Hunger at  http://mazon.org/.  Founded in 1985, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, is the only national Jewish nonprofit organization exclusively dedicated to preventing and alleviating hunger among people of all faiths and backgrounds.

 

 

 

Our gift bazaar this year was enhanced by a table of delicious baked goods from our Teen Tzedakah group, which is raising money to make more bagged lunches for the Fairfield and Bridgeport homeless shelters.

Elsa Cantor had a marvelous array of handmade products whose sales help support an orphanage and training center in Thailand.  Proceeds from BeadforLife products go directly back to the women's cooperatives in Uganda that hand make these beautiful beads.

Diane Keefe sold coffee and chocolate and lots of other goodies to support The Wilton Meeting sister city of Nagarote in Nicaragua.

Finally, our sales of Ten Thousand Villages products brought $120.50 back to our Sunday School and Teen Tzedakah group for their tzedakah projects.

While we didn't have a large turnout this year, the people who did come spent a lot of money.  So, thank you very much, you know who you are!

Help for our family in need...

Beth Ulman brought over all the goodies collected at the Hanukkah party (and more--some people dropped stuff off directly at her house).  Her entire van was filled with clothing, gifts, books, etc.  We filled our back porch.

Then, Jodi came over and went "shopping" for her family, and left here with her van filled with clothing, gifts, gift cards, and a pair of pink cowboy boots for her oldest daughter Kelly (I wish I could see her face on xmas morning!  She was smiling and crying and asked me to tell all of you how grateful she is that she can now provide holiday gifts and much needed clothing for her family.

Robb took our biggest car, filled to the brim, with the remaining clothes and stuff, to the Community Closet in Bridgeport, where countless other families will find what they need. 

To all the members and families who contributed, thank you for your amazing generosity.  There aren't words to describe how much goodness and light you create in the world when you help like this.

Gail Ostrow