Over the past two years, the social action committee of Temple Beth Torah in Upper Nyack, NY, has designed its program to encourage wide-scale congregant participation in tikkun olam. This effort was built on a long-standing commitment to community service that has been woven into the fabric of our congregation since its inception. The activities held during the two-year period covered by this application have inspired action by providing education -- about the Jewish imperative to pursue justice, about the ongoing needs within our community and the world, and the ongoing opportunities for gemilut chasadim. We have provided ongoing assistance to those in need and to the organizations that serve them – the homeless, the hungry, the elderly, our brothers and sisters in Israel, the working poor of Rockland County, our own congregants, and the environment. And, we have responded in times of emergency.

Key to the success of our efforts has been collaboration between many Temple committees and partnerships with several organizations also working to heal the world. The organizations have included United Way of Rockland County, People to People, Meals on Wheels, Nyack Hospital, the Nyack Homeless Project, Rockland Lake State Park, Keep Rockland Beautiful, Helping Hands, Jewish Family Services, Rockland Family Shelter, DOROT, the New Israel Fund, and New York Blood Center. In creating ongoing partnerships with these organizations, we have provided real services to our local and international communities and paved the way for congregants to pursue meaningful ongoing work.

Our programs have included a tax assistance program for the working poor, a collaboration with other houses of worship to provide shelter for the homeless during the winter months, multiple community service days, multiple food drives, a Social Action Speaker Series, ongoing participation in a Kosher Food Cupboard, the generation of tzedakah for the New Israel Fund and organizations that work to alleviate hunger in Rockland and around the world, and a major effort to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina.

The local press has reported on our efforts with substantial coverage, providing recognition for the Temple and education about the local needs being addressed by our work.

Program Descriptions:

• Hurricane Katrina Victim Assistance
• Tax Assistance Program
• Rhoda Bloom Kosher Food Pantry
• Helping Hands
• Community Service Days
• Food Drives
• New Israel Fund
• Social Action Speaker Series

Click here for the full seven page document about Social Action at TBT.

There are many opportunities to perform mitzvot with the TBT community:

Rhoda Bloom Kosher Food Pantry. Each month, in conjunction with Jewish Family Services, TBT congregants help gather and distribute food to those in need in Rockland's Jewish community. Contact -- Judy Levy at 623-4478 or judylevy@optonline.net.

Rockland’s Tax Assistance Program. In conjunction with United Way of Rockland County, TBT will participate in this program that offers free tax assistance for working families that qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit. Volunteers do not need any accounting skills ; they are trained and are asked to commit to one three-hour shift per week from mid-January through mid-April. Volunteers are needed as tax preparers, translators, computer e-filers, and greeters. And, tax professionals are needed as experts. Training starts in December. Last year, we helped 50 families claim over $100,000. Contact Risa Askenas at 639-9591 or raskenas@aol.com.

Helping Hands. During the winter months, TBT provides shelter to the area's homeless for three nights per month. On those nights, one shift of volunteers is needed to cook and serve dinner and a second shift stays overnight. For all who participated last year, it was a rewarding experience. Contact Debbie Studnitzer at 638-0804 or studnitzer@optonline.net.

Christmas Relief --Sunday Supper is an organization that provides prepared meals on Sundays year-round to those in need. If you are interested in helping with food preparation and service on Christmas Eve or Day, please contact Howard Reiss at 268-8540 or hreiss@reisseisen.com. 6 - 10 volunteers are needed on each day.

Meals on Wheels delivers food to the homebound. They also need relief help on Christmas Eve and Day. Interested volunteers should contact Helene Gelman at 639-4161 or hgelman@snarlingrealities.com.

Nyack Homeless Project is a volunteer organization that encourages adults, teens, and children to help make a difference to those in need during the winter months. Among other projects, they coordinate clothing drives during November and December. For more info, visit www.nyackhp.org.

If you have ideas for social action projects or would like to join the committee, please contact co-chairs Judy O'Neill (639-9706 or doctor@thirteen.org)or Helene Gelman (639-4161 or hgelman@snarlingrealities.com).

Check out TBT's NEW Social Justice Committee.

FROM:  Rabbi Brian Beal

I am pleased to announce that Temple Beth Torah is collaborating again with the United Way of Rockland County to help provide volunteer assistance for the CASH program (Creating Assets, Savings and Hope) -- formerly known as TAP.  No prior experience is necessary. 

Volunteer opportunities are available for:

• Tax preparers
• Greeters/site managers
• Translators (particularly those fluent in Spanish or Yiddish
• Electronic filers (at the UWRC office during the day.

I participated in this program as a volunteer and I can tell you that it was one of the most gratifying experiences.  There is a finite commitment of time--approx. 12 weeks--and the gratitude expressed by our clients made every moment well worth it!  And for those among us who are not math and/or computer savvy, please know that greeters/site managers and translators play a very important role in the success of this program.  No matter what skills and experience you bring, you can make a difference!

United Way and the IRS provide free training prior to the end of January.  Some of the training can be done at home via an online learning course at your own pace. Volunteer shifts are once a week for three hours a week.  The program will run from the end of January until the end of tax season in April. Although there will be at least one morning and one afternoon shift, the most pressing need is for volunteers to work evening shifts on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday between 6–9 pm.

The CASH program provides free tax preparation by IRS-certified volunteers to low-income working residents who qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) as well as other tax credits that may be available to them, by filing their federal and state tax returns so that every dollar to which they are entitled can be used to pay for basic needs. This program is different from other Tax-aide or VITA programs as CASH volunteers are focused solely on providing tax preparation assistance to those families with a household income of $40,000 or less a year (or single adult families making $12,400 or less).

This is the third year that Temple Beth Torah and United Way of Rockland are working together on this program.  In 2007, fifty-five (55) volunteers helped recoup $307,962 in refunds ($184,839 in EITC) for Rocklanders.  The United Way’s CASH program underscores its commitment to help Rockland residents protect and meet their basic needs at a time when the gap between take home wages and essential expenses is growing rapidly.

Interested volunteers are welcome to call Naomi Adler, President & CEO of United Way of Rockland at 845-358-8929 or send an e-mail to rocklandcash@gmail.com.

TBT was featured in the Summer issue of Tzedek v'Shalom, the Justice and Peace Newsletter of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism:

Temple Beth Torah, Upper Nyack, New York
Tax Assistance Program

Temple Beth Torah in Upper Nyack, New York, in conjunction with United Way of Rockland County, coordinated a group of volunteers to provide free tax assistance for individuals who qualifyfor the Federal and State Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). This is a meaningful way to assist the working poor in their struggle to provide basic necessities for their families; eligible workers often do not know it is available and the benefit goes unclaimed. Temple volunteers served as tax preparers, site greeters, interpreters (Spanish, Creole and Yiddish), tax experts, technical assistants and electronic return filers. Twenty-five volunteers trained for a combined total of 400 hours to become certified to prepare tax returns. Each committed at least three hours a week during tax season. In the program’s first year, 55 returns were filed and over a hundred thousand dollars were brought back to the neediest families in Rockland County.

Click here to see the entire newsletter (TBT is on page 3).

 
Congratulations to Temple Beth Torah, recipient of the 2007 Irving J. Fain Social Action Award!

Fain Awards are given every two years by the Union for Reform Judaism Commission on Social Action to congregations whose work in the area of social justice is exemplary, have successfully involved large numbers of congregants in their programs and have developed genuinely innovative and/or particularly effective projects.

Social Action has been at the core of TBT’s mission and vision since the congregation’s inception.  Hundreds of TBT members give thousands of volunteer hours to our congregation’s community-based projects each year, and our congregants give thousands of more hours through other organizations and their employers.

In receiving the Fain Award, TBT was given particular recognition for our Tax Assistance Program, which we run in partnership with the United Way of Rockland County.  By the end of this year's tax season, our volunteers prepared over $300,000 in refunds, helping to return much needed dollars to people who struggle to make ends meet.

Click here for more information about the FAIN award.
Click here for more information about this year's winners.

Click here to see the Journal News article about TBT's Community Service Day.