Our fellow members are engaged in Tikkun Olam on many levels and in many ways. Join us in being inspired, and consider joining in! Email tikkunolambethel@gmail.com for more information.
Please see the Antiracism Working Group’s 2022 Year in Review. At our January meeting. we:
Contacts: Judy Goldberg and Karen Blumenfeld (antiracism@bethelsudbury.org)
We have scheduled the next blood drive on March 28. We need volunteers to staff the registration desk and the canteen, as well as sign-ups for blood donations. Sign up below.
Shirley Hui also joined the MetroWest Women’s Fund as an ambassador for Natick. This organization is founded by Rebecca Parkhill and former Beth El member Rachel Sagan. Their focus this year will be on mental health. More at metrowestwomensfund.com.
If you’re interested in taking part in Green Team initiatives, please contact John at jpharper47@gmail.com. Join their listserv by emailing greenteam-subscribe@members.bethelsudbury.org.
Programs now being developed:
JDAIM (Jewish Disabilities Awareness and Inclusion Month) — On February 12, keynote speaker Susan Noonan will present “Living with Mental Illness: Words to Say, Things to Do.” During the rest of the month, there will be reflections by congregants, and teachings by the rabbi at Friday and Saturday services.
Gender-neutral bathrooms — Susan has met with a representative (Rabbi Micah) from Keshet, and will be keeping us updated on the results of this effort. Carrie was instrumental in getting a grant to help defray costs of Rabbi Micah’s public speaking engagement (date TBA).
Zoom hosting — Cat continues to be coordinator/committee chair with Marty. They continue efforts to get hosts to sign up for services as well as events.
Contact: Maxine Haron or Carrie Fuchs
Thank you to all our volunteers who participated in the 2023 MetroWest MLK Day of Service! Thanks to each and every one of you, whether you participated in person or with a kit, we were able to meet the goals of making 150 banana breads, 95 lasagnas, 80 soup jars, nearly 100 Stars of Hope and more than a dozen desks! Your valuable time and efforts have provided support for the following organizations:
As many of you know, the Metrowest Free Medical Program has had a long, close relationship with Beth El dating back to the program’s founding in 2004. The program saw patients in the sanctuary most Tuesday evenings until we had to take a hiatus due to Covid in 2021. Many of you have volunteered with us in the past and some are still volunteering with us in our new location at 246 Maple St. in Marlborough. We continue to see uninsured and underinsured patients who would not have access to health care without our program.
These are our current services for which we need volunteers:
The following volunteers are needed:
Licensed clinicians
Other volunteers for the clinics
Other volunteer opportunities
In addition to helping in the clinics, there are many other ways you can support the program. For example:
To get more information and to let us know you’re interested, please click here. Updates on this program can be found in the monthly newsletter posted on their website at metrowestfreemedicalprogram.org.
Our work for the last month or so has been focused on preparing for the HIAS Shabbat weekend (February 3–5). The two events are:
And in all this we’ll be talking and publicizing the work that HIAS is doing (and has done for some generations now) supporting people fleeing danger and oppression around the world. Contact: Carl Offner
The Sudbury Community Food Pantry is busy feeding about 300 clients monthly (understanding they can shop as much as weekly), and the free home delivery service orchestrated and managed by Deb Oppenheimer for clients unable to otherwise access the pantry is similarly quite busy. If anyone is interested in volunteering to help pack groceries for those clients getting home deliveries on Wednesdays (once or multiple times per month), please give Deb Oppenheimer a call at 978-443-4972 and all questions will be welcome and answered.
The Tzedek Scholarship Committee is happy to announce that we have just accepted a new recipient for our scholarship. She is delightful, hard-working young woman from Turkey studying at Framingham State University.
Thanks to everyone for your wonderful work! If I’ve missed anyone’s Tikkun Olam efforts at Beth El, please let me know. We’d like to share the news with the community! If something here interests you, and you don’t see contact information, let me know and I’m happy to connect you.
Allison Alter (she/her)
VP, Tikkun Olam
105 Hudson Road, Sudbury, MA 01776
(978) 443-9622|Email Us
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