In March of 2017, a group of 30 Shomrei congregants met to explore ways we could be of assistance to refugees in the local area. Our concerns at the time included how to find those families with needs and what our capacity was to provide help.
In the last 10 months, we have, in fact, provided vital assistance to five families, which include a total of 21 people. Our interactions with the families have taken a variety of forms, including:
- Providing families with much-needed winter clothes, household furniture, and kitchen supplies (We have a current list of needs online)
- Helping one family get library cards
- Helping one family discover neighborhood recreational facilities
- Finding a neighborhood preschool program for one child
- Sharing a sumptuous lunch in one family’s apartment
- Inviting the families to Shomrei’s Sukkot Syria Supper Club dinner and Hanukkah party
- Inviting one family to a member’s house for a Thanksgiving dinner
- Sending cards to one family marking the birth of a child; sending cards to the same family with condolences on the death of a parent in Syria
Our major current project is to sponsor a Kiddush lunch on February 3, catered by Bara’a Oudeh, one of the refugees that we have been helping. Bara’s is a wonderful cook, and catering the Kiddush will provide her with both a way to earn money for her family and a path to self-sufficiency in her new country; at the same time, it will provide Shomrei with a delicious Kiddush lunch. We are asking interested members of our group to become sponsors of the Kiddush by sending a donation for $36 or more to the Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund.
Donate in one of two ways:
Visit the Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund’s “Go Fund Me” page to donate with a credit card. Please add a comment “for the special kiddush”
Or bring a check into the Shomrei office. Please make out the check to “Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund” and write “for the special kiddush” in the memo.
As our circle of refugee families has expanded over the past few months, so has our need for volunteers. If you are not already a member of our group, we invite you to join — just send an email to either Nick (email hidden; JavaScript is required) or Andy (email hidden; JavaScript is required). Similarly, if you are already a member of the group and would like to do more, just let us know.
It is a humbling experience to meet people who have had to flee their home, arrive in a foreign land, and begin a new life. Each family that we have met only wants the same thing – to be able to establish a safe home for themselves and their children and to find work to support themselves. They are so grateful for anything we can provide – whether it is a pair of gloves, a box of diapers, or a cooking pot. In some cases the need extends to a bed or even a car. One can’t help but feel that helping these families is actually a gift for us, an opportunity to put into practice what we learn every Shabbat. We invite you to share in that gift.
