Social Action

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” – Anne Frank, Diary of a Young Girl, 1952

The Temple Har Zion Social Action committee provides congregants with opportunities for spiritual and personal growth through social action that benefits our congregational family, the extended Jewish community, and our local community, a few of which are listed below.  Activities will be available for families with young children and teens as well as individuals.  The need is great and the opportunities are many.  Please volunteer today.

Social Action Committee chair: Phyllis Rubin, 708.848.6168, phyllis.rubin@comcast.net.

Some Har Zion Social Action Initiatives (There are more!)

Within our congregational family, the Kulanu Committee (more on Kulanu below):

• Prepare and deliver meals to an ill or homebound member
• Provide transportation to medical appointments and the airport in times of need
• Home and hospital visits, by telephone or other electronic means for now.
• Shivah calls and (when COVID-19 pandemic allows) leading services in a house of mourning.

Extended Jewish community:

• Tzedakah projects for Jewish groups in the Chicago area.
• Letter-writing campaigns for Jewish causes
• Donations of medical supplies, religious books and articles and money to the Jewish community of Penza, our sister city in the former Soviet Union.

Our Neighbors and the World

• The Har Zion Urban Garden, which is cultivated in partnership of the Har Zion Early Childhood Program. Some of garden's harvest is enjoyed by the preschool children as they learn valuable lessons on where food comes from; the rest is donated to Beyond Hunger (formerly the Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry).
• Blood drives.
• Food and clothing drives.
• Housing Forward, a social service agency that works transition individuals and families from housing crisis to housing stability.
• Austin People’s Action Center, a social service agency serving the Chicago Austin Community and several suburban communities.
• Community of Congregations projects in Oak Park and River Forest.
• Support of IsraAID projects. IsraAID is an Israel-based international non-governmental organization, which supports people undergoing humanitarian crises by providing emergency aid, support, and training. It has worked in 50+ countries.

Kulanu means “all of us.”

We are your friends and your community, and we’re here for you. Kulanu organizes temple volunteers to provide assistance to members needing help because of illness, a new baby, a death, surgery, or other stressful situation.

Shopping/Food/Meals: It can be so hard to take care of all of the matters of daily life when under unusual physical or emotional stress, including isolating for COVID. Let us shop/deliver/organize meals and other necessaries for you.

Shiva Assistance: When there’s a death in the immediate family, there are so many details to needing attention. Kulanu volunteers can help you perform this important mitzvah.

Bikur Cholim: A core Jewish value and mitzvah to "visit"—support—the sick and those in need. 

Other: You may find that you are in need of other assistance such as shopping, pet care, babysitting, or other types of help.

How to volunteer: If you are willing to be on a list to be called when your fellow congregants are in need, contact us. You can specify the type of help you can provide and your availability.  (Or contact Shirley Lieb at sdl747@gmail.com or the temple office at 708-366-9000 or office@wsthz.org.)

For more information, contact Shirley Lieb at sdl747@gmail.com.