Social Action

Social Action

Mishlach Manot

The Or Chadash Mishlach Manot program generates wonderful warmth and goodwill within our congregation, and we continue to extend that warmth and goodwill to people outside our congregation.

This year, Or Chadash contributed Purim gift bags to five clients of Jewish Family Services of Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren Counties who live in Annandale, Flemington, Whitehouse and Neshanic Station. The elderly Jewish members of our community who received gift bags were so clearly very grateful for both the gift bag, the thought behind it, and the short visit. Please remember that in addition to giving food gifts, giving charity to the poor is an important mitzvah of Purim, so please do what you can to donate to charities that help the needy, such as Jewish Family Services, local food pantries and Mazon.


Social Action Opportunities

Flemington Food Pantry

Flemington Area Food Pantry

The mission of the Flemington Area Food Pantry is to provide food to eligible citizens of Hunterdon County. The Food Pantry is a volunteer organization distributing food received from the citizens and businesses of Hunterdon County to persons certified by governmental social programs as well as those referred by leaders of county religious congregations. It is supplemental to other program resources. For more information, please go to www.flemafp.com

 

Open Cupboard Food Pantry

Open Cupboard Food Pantry is a private non-profit 501(c)(3) agency serving northern Hunterdon County. They believe they have a responsibility to fill the very basic need for food for those in need.

Over 100 volunteers work in the Pantry and thrift shop. They depend entirely on donations of groceries, personal care and cleaning items for the Pantry. Monetary donations allow them to buy perishables such as meat, produce and dairy products in addition to basic groceries as needed. The shop accepts contributions of clean, gently-used or new clothing, books and household items. All proceeds from thrift shop sales are used to defray the Pantry’s operating expenses and purchase groceries as needed.

Family Promise
Or Chadash is proud to be a Support Congregation for the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Hunterdon County. The foundation of the Interfaith Hospitality Network program is the use of existing community resources for overnight lodging, congregations for volunteers and social services agencies for screenings and referrals. As a Support Congregation, Or Chadash provides meals and assistance to homeless single women and families.
Jewish Family Service of Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren Counties is a not-for-profit, non-discriminatory social service agency whose purpose is to preserve and strengthen the quality of individual, family and community life based on Jewish values. For more information, please visit our website at www.jewishfamilysvc.org.
On the beautiful Wilf Campus in Somerset, NJ, you’ll find senior living and nursing care with all the comforts of home. We offer a warm, inviting environment where a Jewish lifestyle is embraced and seniors live life to the fullest… with the support of our professional caregivers and a range of senior programs and services. Please read about our volunteer opportunities here.
Religious Action Center

Reform Judaism’s Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC) in Washington, D.C. pursues social justice and religious liberty by mobilizing the American Jewish community and serving as its advocate in the capital of the United States. 


Mitzvah Projects

As part of the Bar/Bat Mitzvah preparations all of our students complete a Mitzvah Project, an opportunity to do Tikkun Olam — repair the world. One important requirement of the Mitzvah Project is that our students must experience “getting their hands dirty!” Click here for a sampling of the diverse activities our Or Chadash students have completed or are doing in our community.


Perspectives on the L’Taken Seminar at RAC

Walking into the lobby of what would be our home for the next three nights, the atmosphere was clearly buzzed. At the sign-up area, there were several men with kippahs bent over clipboards and the entire population seemed to have name-tags with their names, temples, and states (Betsy would have been in heaven). I went last year, but this feeling swallowed me again: yes, we all had suitcases, disheveled hair, name-tags, nervous chaperones, but we all felt oddly alike. All of the teens around us were Jews. And in Hunterdon Central, that’s weird… Read more!

Students Perspectives on the L’Taken Seminar 2011 Student Perspectives on L’Taken Seminar at RAC February 19-22, 2010 – Washington, DC Chaperone Perspectives – L’Taken Seminar 2011 (DOC 33.28 KB) Bea and Larry Abrams:
We had the privilege of chaperoning 9 of our temple’s teens for a weekend in Washington, DC, sponsored by The Religious Action Center (of the Union for Reform Judaism). It was the second time we participated in the program, called L’Taken (meaning to heal or fix). While the program was similar to that of last year, we were still impressed by its timeliness, scope and depth, as well as the professionalism and approachability of the RAC staff. We also were awed by how well the students became involved. Their grasp of subject matter and final presentations would make any rational person proud.

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