Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Synagogue B-Mitzvah Tikkun Olam Projects Guide
This guide was developed to assist families in selecting Tikkun Olam projects, as a key part of B- Mitzvah preparation in our community – this is how we live out Torah, and embody our Jewish commitments. Of course, your own ideas are more than welcome, whether they’re found on this list or not; be in touch with Rabbi Hazzan Rachel or Rabbi Fred about your choices.
This is not meant to be an all-inclusive list, nor is it always up-to-date; many other projects are worth considering, too. Nor will all projects listed here be appropriate for every teen -- and we cannot guarantee that every organization will offer opportunities exactly as described. Please consider this simply as a starting point for investigating all your options.
This guide will be updated periodically – please share with the Clergy Assistant in our office ([email protected]) any updates to contact information, feedback from actual experiences with the organizations listed here, and recommendations of additional organizations and projects which others might pursue. Thank you.
For additional information, feedback or suggestions, contact Social Action Chair/s, in the directory. More resources are on pp. 5 & 6.
ORGANIZATIONS WORTH CONSIDERING:
Adat Shalom Mishnah Garden provides opportunities for children of all ages to participate in garden activities as a Tikkun Olam project, including B’nai Mitzvah students. They can join in the planting and harvesting of a variety of fruits, vegetables and herbs, join in other gardening tasks as the need arises, or take on specific projects such as planting and caring for milkweed to attract butterflies to the garden. Contact: Fred Pinkney, [email protected] , to coordinate specific garden projects or to ask about the garden's planting and harvesting schedule.
Assisted living facilities across the area provide opportunities for interacting with residents in many different ways. Teens should contact the facilities directly to find out their needs. There are numerous volunteer options at the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington, with the requirement that children under 14 be accompanied by an adult. For more information, go to: http://www.hebrew-home.org/site/PageServer?pagename=volunteer_students.
Sunrise Assisted Living also has a number of facilities in the area. http://www.sunriseseniorliving.com/communities.aspx
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Behrend Builders, which is part of the DC Jewish Community Center (DC JCC), needs volunteers to work in lower-income neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. to repair, renovate and beautify individual family homes, community centers, schools, shelters, parks and other community spaces. For more information, go to http://www.washingtondcjcc.org/volunteer/behrend-builders/. Contact: Michal Rosenoer, Behrend Builders Coordinator, at [email protected] .
Bethesda Cares provides outreach services to the homeless. Volunteer opportunities for teens include making food and helping serve lunch, or sponsoring drives for needed donations. Contact: Susan Kirk at [email protected] or (301) 907-9244.
The Association for Safe International Road Travel (ASIRT). ASIRT is a non-profit, non- governmental (501c3) organization that improves the safety of travelers on the roads in countries around the world. ASIRT provides tools and information to program organizers and travelers touring, studying and volunteering in other countries to educate them about road safety in their destination country. ASIRT also works in several middle economic and developing countries to improve road safety for their citizens as well as tourists. ASIRT also encourages decision-makers in the US and in many countries around the world to promote road safety and to create and strengthen road safety policies in these countries. Contact: Rochelle Sobel at [email protected].
Camp Service at the DC JCC. Summer campers perform service projects such as painting a recreational center in a lower-income neighborhood, preparing and delivering food for day laborers and the homeless, making a path and clearing areas at a camp for lower-income children, and other projects. For more information go to: http://washingtondcjcc.org/kids-and-parents/camp/camp- yad.html.Contact: Phil Liebson, Camp Director at [email protected] or (202) 777-3270
Capital BookShare collects and sorts books and then brings them to teachers in under-resourced schools in Southeast DC where the teachers then choose as many books as they want for their classroom bookshelves. Volunteers can host book drives at their schools, at Adat Shalom, or at their B’nai Mitzvah. If a volunteer is also interested in accompanying Capital BookShare to one of its schools in Southeast, that teenager needs first to be approved by someone on the board, and a parent must also accompany him/her to the school. Contact: Adat Shalom member Melissa Fox at [email protected] or (301) 775-3057.
Chai Lifeline provides opportunities to help seriously ill children by visiting them or organizing toy and gift drives. Their web site (http://www.chailifeline.org/volunteer.php) provides more information on volunteering in the area.
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Chords of Glory: Performance with a Purpose, a project of Community Kids Inc. (www.cchfp.org) is an ensemble of middle school-age singers, dancers, instrumentalists and actors who are passionate about both the performing arts and community service. We perform for people who, for reasons of age, disability, illness, or economic hardship cannot experience live performance. Students can earn service learning credits for school, church, synagogue, and scouting. Contact: Pam Sommers, [email protected]
Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place (www.cchfp.org) empowers men and women experiencing homelessness to rebuild their lives with the involvement of the community. Volunteer opportunities include playing board games with consumers, making sandwiches, organizing the food pantry, painting, and conducting drives for needed items. Contact: Michael O'Neill, Community Engagement Coordinator, [email protected], 202-364- 1419 x23(office) or 202-747-4231(cell).
Days End Farm Horse Rescue rescues and rehabilitates starving, abused or neglected horses. Volunteer opportunities include cleaning, watering, feeding, grooming and management of the horses. No experience with horses is required. Youths 12 and older may volunteer without a parent after attending the orientation. Children under 12 may volunteer if a parent volunteers by their side and provides supervision at all times. For more information on volunteering, go to www.defhr.org/vols/vol.htm. Contact: [email protected] or 301-854-5037.
DC Central Kitchen prepares meals for the homeless using leftover food. They accept volunteers aged 12 and up to help prepare the meals. All ages can also volunteer from June through October to glean produce from area farms that will be used for the meals. To register to volunteer, go to: http://www.dccentralkitchen.org/volunteer.php.
The Friendship Circle. Once a week (or every two weeks), teens meet with a special needs child in their community, getting to know them, having fun, and providing social interaction for children who have a tough time making friends. Teens can also choose to visit the elderly. Contact: Sarah Goldberg ([email protected]) for questions. To sign up, contact the organizer of the Washington D.C. chapter at [email protected].
Interfaith Works operates a number of projects open to youth volunteers. At the Clothing Distribution Center, volunteers sort, organize and display clothing, accept donations and assist clients. (http://www.iworksmc.org/p-interfaith-clothing- centers.html#VolunteeratRockville) Contact: Sabrina at [email protected]. Other volunteer opportunities at Interfaith Works include serving meals at the shelters, landscaping at the shelters and group homes, and conducting a drive for clothing and other needed items. For more information, go to http://www.communityministrymc.org/s-volunteer.html.
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Open Arms Housing provides permanent homes with on-going supportive services for single women who have lived on the streets and in the shelters of Washington, D.C. Volunteers can: prepare and/or serve holiday meals and celebrations (Christmas and Easter particularly helpful); provide gifts or gift certificates for Mother's Day, birthdays, Christmas, etc.; organize drives for canned and fresh food, clothes, cosmetics, and household supplies; plan and carry out activities such as Bingo games, knitting, and computer skills training; interview the women about their life stories; or develop their own ideas for projects. For more information, go to www.openarmshousing.org, or email Adat Shalom member Marilyn Kresky-Wolff at [email protected].
Poplar Springs Animal Sanctuary (http://www.animalsanctuary.org/volunteer/index.html). Volunteers can help care for animals, most of which are abused or abandoned farm animals.
Special Olympics Maryland & Montgomery County needs volunteers to participate alongside children in their sports programs for people with intellectual disabilities. Their website mentions an older minimum age, but they have allowed younger people (including Adat Shalom B’nai Mitzvah students) to participate on a case-by-case basis. (www.somdmontgomery.org) Contact: Pam Yerg, Area Director, at 301-424-3083
Star Gazing Farm (http://www.stargazingfarm.org/help/volunteer.php) is a farm animal sanctuary that provides a permanent home for stray, neglected and unwanted farm animals in Boyds, MD. Volunteers help with various chores on the farm, including mucking the barn, repairing fences, weeding, painting and other projects. Contact: [email protected], (301) 349-0802.
Stepping Stones Shelter in Rockville (www.steppingstonesshelter.org) is a temporary shelter for families transitioning to more permanent housing. Volunteer opportunities include playing with the children of the residents, reading to them, helping with homework, doing outdoor maintenance, doing indoor maintenance, and organizing donated clothes. Contact: Denise Fredericks, 301-251-0567, ext. 101, [email protected].
A Wider Circle (www.AWiderCircle.org) provides furniture and basic household needs to families transitioning out of shelters and into permanent housing. Volunteer opportunities include organizing and shelving items in the warehouse, assisting families in locating items, and interacting with younger children while their parents "shop."
Yachad (www.yachad-dc.org) mobilizes the resources of the Washington-area Jewish community to repair and rebuild lower-income neighborhoods. Volunteer opportunities are available for 13 year- olds, as long as they are accompanied by an adult who works with them. Contact: Kendra Rubinfeld, Director of Programming, 202-296-8563, [email protected].
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From Adat Shalom’s B-Mitzvah Guidelines (pp. 7-8, rev. 1/08)
VI. ELEMENTS OF THE B-MITZVAH PROGRAM: Becoming a b-mitzvah is the beginning of participation in the adult Jewish world and not an end in itself. Jewish adulthood has many facets and these are reflected in the b-mitzvah program at Adat Shalom. Engraved on the panels of our sanctuary are the words from Pirkei Avot: "The world stands on three things: on Torah, on Avodah, and on Gemilut Hasadim." In entering Jewish adulthood, the B-Mitzvah should prepare in each of these areas. Torah implies learning; Avodah suggests deepening one's prayer and spiritual life; and Gemilut Hasadim, often translated as “acts of loving kindness”, points to repairing the world, both through direct service and volunteerism and through tzedakah. Parents, the B-Mitzvah Coordinator, and the clergy are all expected to help shape a student's program of preparation in these three important areas:
1. Torah—Text Study: Whether or not the child offers a public D’var Torah, it is important that the child experience Torah study. Studying their parsha with the clergy is a key facet of the B-Mitzvah experience.
2. Avodah—Spiritual Practice and Participation in Services: Reciting the Torah and Haftarah blessings and publicly chanting the Torah text are part of adult Jewish spiritual practice. Becoming a B-Mitzvah is a beginning, not an end in itself. As a mitzvah person, each student is encouraged to make a commitment to continued Jewish spiritual practice following the B-Mitzvah ceremony.
3. Gemilut Hasadim—Tikkun Olam Project: Each B-Mitzvah student at Adat Shalom is expected to undertake a tikkun olam project. The project should be hands-on and developmentally appropriate so that the child is able to see a direct connection between their actions and the “repair” of one small corner of the world. Some students participate in group B-Mitzvah projects, either at Adat Shalom or in the larger Jewish community.
For many of our families, the tikkun olam project becomes a shared family activity, with child-ren working alongside their parents. Ideally, participation in tikkun olam will become a life-long habit and this is most likely to happen when it becomes a regular feature of family life.
4. Gemilut Hasidim—Tzedakah: Because the B-Mitzvah experience is intended to start a young person on a path of regularly fulfilling mitzvot, Adat Shalom encourages our B-Mitzvah students to mark this milestone by committing some portion of the monetary gifts they receive to tzedakah, or by asking that gifts be given directly to a particular charity. If desired, the clergy and the Social Action Committee are both happy to acquaint the student with organizations to which they might consider giving funds.
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FEATURES OF A ‘GOOD’ TIKKUN OLAM PROJECT:
* Makes a tangible difference in the world, focused on one particular mitzvah as a starting point. * Is somewhat self-contained – the student should actually see and appreciate what they have done. * Is developmentally appropriate – taps the right level of complexity and challenge for each age. * Is fun – something to look forward to, something hands-on, something interesting and enjoyable. * Is familial – has elements that can be shared with parent/s (and siblings), to reinforce the growth. * Stretches the student’s and family’s comfort zones – meet new people, gain new understandings. * Builds capacity – helps the student acquire skills and sensitivities as a foundation for future growth. * It’s only the beginning: momentous momentum toward a life of mitzvot! Make the most of it…
EXAMPLES OF SOLID TIKKUN OLAM PROJECTS:
* Volunteering at a homeless shelter – helping out, getting to know residents and hear their stories, ideally staying overnight once or twice, making a real difference while stretching your horizons. * Working at an animal shelter (ala Poplar Springs) – doing grunt work to help abused or orphaned animals, getting to know them and their caretakers, thinking afresh about humanity and creation. * Raising funds for a worthy cause is always good, but it’s not enough – raise funds for under-privileged youth in Israel, then go and meet them! Buy a heifer, go to Africa to deliver it… * Collecting stuff for others is also always good, but not enough – collect clothes for kids in need, then volunteer in the place where you drop them; collect books, then teach those who receive them… * Tutor. Support a candidate. Clean up a watershed. Give energy-saving bulbs to low-income folks. Etc…
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