Tikkun Olam/Social Justice Team

We have exciting news to share:

HIAS awarded University Synagogue a Pathways Leadership Award for the work our congregation has done helping refugees and asylum seekers.

For any of you who may not be familiar with HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society), it is an organization established in 1881 to help Russian Jewish immigrants to the U.S. Now, HIAS helps refugees of all nationalities, religions and ethnic origins. The award recognizes University Synagogue for the “extraordinary work helping refugees, asylum seekers and other forcibly displaced people.”  

The synagogue has been given a leadership award, recognizing the work done in a number of different ways.  We have participated in the National Refugee Shabbat since 2018 and Rabbi Rachlis has invited guest speakers to talk to our congregation on many other occasions over the years about issues related to refugee resettlement, adjustment and inclusion.  

As many of you are aware, University Synagogue has established three Welcome Circle teams in the past three years, under the auspices of HIAS. Synagogue members have generously donated money to assist an Afghan family, and two Ukrainian families in their first year in the United States. The teams have helped the families in so many ways: finding housing, orienting families to life in the United States, seeking and obtaining employment, tutoring family members in English, helping them with the governmental processes of seeking asylum, refugee status, and a road to citizenship. Two of the youngest refugees, from the Afghan family, were warmly welcomed into the synagogue Pre-School, where they learned so much.  

University Synagogue also has a number of members who have volunteered with the Orange County Jewish Coalition for Refugees and for the organization Home for Refugees, based in Orange County. Other synagogue members organize a collection of clothing and household goods and distribute these to a variety of local shelters and organizations, some of which assist refugee families. And the synagogue’s annual High Holiday food drive also benefits local organizations whose beneficiaries include refugee families.  

Our synagogue can be proud of this recognition by HIAS of our collective contributions toward improving the lives of refugee families. We appreciate all of the efforts of our members which led to this award.

THINK TOGETHER

Think Together has served more than 150,000 at risk kids in homework centers at 400 school sites throughout California.  Over several years, TO has supported Think Together’s programs in various ways, particularly at the Shalimar Homework Center in Costa Mesa.

GIFT OF WARMTH DRIVE

Our Gift of Warmth drive in December was incredibly successful. We provided more warm clothing this year than we have in the past 3 years combined. Thanks for all your donations! If you’re ready to start cleaning out your closets of lighter clothing, athletic shoes, etc., please put them aside to bring over for our continuing Every Day Giving project. Spring will be here sooner than we think. See the flyer for details or contact Alan Nishball at 949-733-2140 wilnal@cox.net or Jier Dong at jierd@lawnet.uci.edu for more information. Donation barrels are near the school entrance at the synagogue.

EVERYDAY GIVING

The Everyday Giving program is always active, collecting clothing, furniture, home goods and more. Clear out your space and pass your gently used items to someone who will make good use of them. Bring your donations to the bins located at the entrance of the religious school. Items are delivered to local organizations including:

• Illumination Foundation
• Someone Cares Soup Kitchen
• Working Wardrobes
• OCJCR Refugee Support
• Orange County Rescue Mission

Contact  Alan Nishball to arrange pick up/delivery.

REFUGEE INITIATIVES

The three families University Synagogue helped with Welcome Circles have now been here long enough to have found housing, jobs and community, so they are fairly independent of our help.  Thanks to everyone who contributed to make that possible.

However, we continue to have a strong relationship with the local HIAS affiliate for Refugee Resettlement called Jewish Family and Children’s Services of Long Beach and Orange County (JFCSLBOC) which is a certified Resettlement agency at which Anastasiia Denysova, one of the Ukrainian women in the family we helped, is a Russian and Ukrainian speaking Case Manager for new Refugees.  They are still receiving many Refugee families who need help and they welcome volunteers in a variety of capacities described on their website at https://jfcslboc.org/refugee/get-involved/. To express interest, you can fill out the online form at https://forms.monday.com/forms/2fd2c75fb87dd596a290b45d3991b5b4?r=use1 or email Kaitlyn Siegel, the JFCSLBOC Volunteer Coordinator, at KSiegel@jfcslboc.org  and you will be contacted with more information. Or, better yet, come to the November 3 meeting of the Tikkun Olam Committee at which Kaitlyn will be speaking.  The meeting will be in the Synagogue Library at 10 am.

SECOND HARVEST FOOD DRIVE & ILLUMINATION FOUNDATION

Tikkun Olam has organized food drives for Second Harvest, the Illumination Foundation, and other groups that provide food for Orange County residents who are struggling to provide for their families.  In past years we have done drives for specific food supplies and at other times we have raised funds to be donated to these organizations.

HORWITZ HOUSE

Horwitz House is a group home in Santa Ana which opened in Fall 2017 for developmentally disabled adults of Jewish faith.  Volunteers from TO have provided recreational and educational programs for the residents as well as serving Shabbat dinners to the residents.

Programs have been set up in past years to help many other organizations in Orange County and proposals are welcome.