Once again, our shul has responded with enthusiasm to a call for charity, this time a campaign called “Cans For CAST.” We asked all those joining us for Yom Kippur services to bring a can or other nonperishable item, and to deposit the food in the big red barrel stationed at the ramp entry door. And people did, filling the barrel and making it a back-breaker for CAST volunteers to drag it away.

The “Cans For Cast” campaign is based on a worldwide movement to feed the hungry as part of the annual observance of Yom Kippur, often referred to as the “Fast of Isaiah,” the Biblical prophet who said, “And if you spend yourself in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.”

Feeling the effects of hunger on a fast day, worshippers will be reminded of those who struggle to nourish their families.

In addition to overseeing the “Cans For Cast” campaign, the Tikkun Olam Group continues to maintain beds of vegetables and herbs at Common Ground and donates the harvest to CAST. The shul thanks Veronica Kaliski, Susan Rosenstreich, Madelyn Rothman, and Cookie Slade for their volunteer efforts on behalf of our shul for the benefit of CAST clients.

In the upcoming year, the Tikkun Olam group will expand its initiatives to include help for the homeless population in Greenport. To that end, the group will begin collecting socks, gloves, hats, undergarments and tee-shirts, to be donated to John’s Place in Greenport. Once again, a big red bin will placed at our shul for donations. The group is hoping CTI members and friends will respond generously to this collection, as they did recently for Cans For CAST.

Coming up, the Tikkun Olam Group has established a calendar for giving through the year:

 

 

September/Yom Kippur: Cans For CAST

Early November: John’s Place

Late November: Chickens for CAST

December: Children’s toys

March: ParentChild+ Program

May to October: Common Ground veggies and herbs/planting and harvesting

August: School supplies