Social action plays an important role in the lives of many Humanistic Jews. Many of our members regularly participate in activities through our congregation and other organizations that are aimed at making the world a better place in which to live. 

In the recent past, our congregation has organized and supported the following events:

• Collecting several hundreds of pounds of food and money at our High Holiday services, as well as in front of local supermarkets, on behalf of the Interfaith Food Pantry in Morristown.
• Improving the trails in Jonathan’s Woods in Denville.
• Collecting winter coats to donate to Jersey Cares.
• Visiting and delivering care packages to home-bound senior citizens and participating in other activities that benefit homeless people and hospital patients through CareLink, an annual event sponsored by Jewish Family Services and JCC Metrowest.
• Donating gently-used suits to Dress for Success of Morris County, which provides professional attire and other assistance to help disadvantaged women thrive in work and in life.

We also encourage our Sunday School students to take an active role in social action. In preparation for their B’nai Mitzvah, our students have:

• Organized and led a congregation Relay for Life team, which raised more than $1,000 for the American Cancer Society and participated in the overnight event honoring both those who lost and won their battles with the disease.
• Helped out at and raised nearly $800 for Hope House, which assists HIV/AIDS patients in Denville.
• Raised nearly $200 for Pathways for Exceptional Children, which advocates on behalf of children with disabilities and provides a variety of services to them and their families.
• Collected books for Bridge of Books, which provides books to low-income families.
• Raised awareness about the genocide in Darfur and raised funds to support for the victims through the sale of t-shirts and bracelets.
• Helped athletes compete in skiing races at the winter Special Olympics at Mountain Creek.

Legislators, Program Honor Teen for Aiding Moroccan Orphans

Peri Levine, a member of the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism who recently celebrated her Bat Mitzvah, was recently named a distinguished honoree by The Raoul Wallenberg Foundation of New Jersey (www.wallenbergfoundationofnj.org/).

Peri educated her friends and their families regarding the hardships and needs of Moroccan orphans and unwed mothers and their children.  Through email campaigns, she collected toothbrushes, toothpaste, school supplies, clothing, scanning thermometers and other necessities.  In addition, she organized a bake sale and lemonade stand fund-raising effort. In August 2010, she went to Morocco and delivered the items to six orphanages, one home to children living in precarious situations and another home to unwed mothers and their babies.

In June 2011, the New Jersey Senate and Assembly in Trenton recognized Peri and other Wallenberg program honorees from around the state for their humanitarian efforts through a ceremony, including the passage of a ceremonial resolution. Previously, Peri was honored at a ceremony for the honorees at Parsippany Hills High School and by the board of education in Bedminster, where she attends school.

The Raoul Wallenberg Honors Program is dedicated to fostering Wallenberg’s ideals among today’s youth. Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat, was credited with leading the rescue of 100,000 Jews from certain death during World War II.  Wallenberg’s great courage, compassion for his fellow man and his vision of a better future for those oppressed are the altruistic values that the foundation strives to support.

Much like Raoul Wallenberg, Peri crossed cultural lines and made an impact on educating and supporting the needs of those who face great challenges. She learned firsthand the hardships a child must face in an orphanage as well as the challenges the unwed mother faces in her community.  She intends to continue e wishes to continue to provide support to this orphanage as well as support the mothers that do not want to give up their babies.

Peri intends to continue her fund-raising efforts by collecting donations for the Casablanca Orphanage as well the Association Solidarite Feminine, a non-profit organization that helps single mothers in Casablanca live dignified lives.

 

Student Collects Baseball Equipment for Bar Mitzvah Project

To complete a Bar Mitzvah social action requirement, one of our Sunday School students is working collecting new and gently used baseball equipment for Pitch In For Baseball (www.pitchinforbaseball.org/html/) , a non-profit organization that improves the lives of children around the world through the life skills and self-esteem that playing baseball can help provide. PIFB has distributed more than 125,000 pieces of equipment to more than 110,000 children in 250 communities throughout the United States and 70 other countries.

Bat Mitzvah Project to Help the World See

A student who has worn glass since 2nd grade is concerned that American throw away millions of used and unused eyeglasses each year when some people in Africa can ill-afford to purchase them.  She has organized a drive to collect slightly-used glasses and money for New Eyes for the Needy  (www.neweyesfortheneedy.org) for her Bat Mitzvah project. In 2009-10, the organization purchased 4,000 pairs of new prescription eyeglasses for poor children and adults in the United States and recycled and distributed 200,000 pairs of donated glasses to impoverished people overseas.

Teen Raises Awareness of Dating Violence and Funds for Prevention

For her B’nai Mitzvah project, a CHJMC student is helping to raise awareness regarding dating violence, which affects one in five teens, through the Jersey Battered Women’s Service (www.jbws.org).  The teen hosted a presentation on dating violence prevention at her home  and collected arts and crafts supplies for the children living in the JBWS safe house.  She also is organizing a team for the “Safe Dating Challenge” 5-K run/1-mile walk (www.jbws.org/events_safe_dating.html) at the College of St. Elizabeth in Morristown, NJ, on October 30, 2011.