The work of Social Action is based on the ethical principles of Judaism, and the notion of Tikkun Olam, the injunction to repair the world. Social Action looks outward to the wider community and society, and the social issues that we feel able to engage with and to raise consciousness about.
The Adopt-a-Family program for JFCS will include: a gift card for the parent, clothing and shoes sizes for the children, and their wish lists. We have over 300 children and 150 seniors to be adopted.The Adopt-a-Senior program would involve gift bags for 150 seniors (in isolation) that include the following items:
Hard Candy
Stamps
Notepad/Pen
Hand Lotion/Sanitizer
Chap stick
Gift Cards to Publix/Walgreens/Wal-Mart
No skid socks
Tissues
Magnets
If you would like to participate, please contact Karen Pharo MPA, Director of Community Outreach at kpharo@jfcs-cares.org, to let her know if you will be adopting a family or senior.
Kol HaNeshama, JFCS Help Needy Veterans
Ellen Honig (left) and Rabbi Jennifer
A recent project spearheaded by Congregation Kol HaNeshama, in partnership with Jewish Family and Children’s Services, resulted in an outpouring of clothing and personal care items to meet the needs of many area Veterans.
The KH Social Action Committee undertook the project after learning from JFCS that many Veterans throughout Sarasota are forced to live in challenging conditions. Veterans’ needs include everyday items most of us take for granted, such as first aid kits, manicure kits, T-shirts, small soft-sided coolers, hand towels, wash cloths, underwear, and blankets.
Ellen Honig, Social Action Committee chair, asked congregation members to make their own purchases and to encourage participation by friends, neighbors, and social media acquaintances. To assist with selection and purchasing, she set up a link with Amazon. Rabbi Jennifer Singer and Ellen delivered a carload of items to JFCS on Nov. 9, two days before Veterans Day.
Last year, the KH Social Action Committee partnered with JFCS on a project to provide necessary items for needy mothers and babies throughout Sarasota.
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Rabbi Jennifer Singer, the Board of Congregation Kol HaNeshama and the Social Action Committee want to thank all of you for your generous donations to our Social Action Event “Helping Mothers and Babies” in partnership with Jewish Family & Children’s Services.
72 people made donations of items consisting of: strollers, car seats, highchairs, diapers, baby clothing, formula, blankets, bouncy seats, baby carriers, bath tubs and many more items too numerous to mention.
For More Information About This Successful Project, Please Click Here.
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Congregation Kol HaNeshama recently spearheaded a social action program responding to the needs of at-risk women and children throughout Sarasota-Manatee. Members of KH filled new or gently used handbags with everyday essentials such as toiletries, sundries and warm socks and encouraged friends and neighbors to do the same. The project resulted in the delivery of some 90 handbags, brimming over with necessities, to Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center (SPARCC) in Sarasota and HOPE Family Services, Inc., in Bradenton.
Photo: Stacey McKee, of HOPE Family Services, Inc., in Bradenton (left) gratefully accepts handbags filled with necessities from Ellen Honig, Chairperson of Kol HaNeshama’s Social Action Committee.
For additional information on this first of several projects planned by Kol HaNeshama in partnership with Jewish Family and Children’s Service, please visit khsarasota.org or call 941.244.2042.
Stay tuned as our Social Action Committee develops our initiatives for 2022 and beyond.
Mail: Kol HaNeshama
PO Box 21655
Sarasota, FL 34276
Phone: 941-244-2042
Email: office@khsarasota.org
St. Wilfred’s Episcopal Church Campus, Kol HaNeshama Sanctuary
3773 Wilkinson Road, Sarasota, FL 34233
