Social Action

Tikkun olam, or repairing our world, is a bedrock value of Jewish faith. Practicing tikkun olam strengthens our Jewish identity, enhances our Temple community and allows us to live our values.

Temple Emanuel provides many opportunities for involvement in social action and social justice through direct service, advocacy, education, and legislative or policy action. As world events occur… as national, state, or local issues emerge… or as unique service opportunities arise, our community responds through efforts led by clergy, lay leaders or congregant-initiated projects.

Our Social Action Committee is focused on engaging all Temple Emanuel members in learning about and acting on Jewish values for justice, equality and a better world. Please share your talents, energies and interests, and join us. Here are some ways you can serve and participate:

Community Service, Collections & Tzedakah

Prepare Community Meals for Bread & Roses

Support of the Bread & Roses Community Meal Program is among Temple Emanuel’s longest ongoing social action projects. Once a month, temple members prepare a meal for guests of Bread & Roses, a Lawrence-based non-profit whose mission is to address the core necessities of the Merrimack Valley’s community members with a holistic and welcoming approach focusing on food insecurity. If you’d like to join us in the temple kitchen on the second Monday of each month, from 5:00 to 6:30 pm, sign up here. Note: registration is required due to capacity contraints in the temple’s kitchen.

Deliver Community Meals to Bread & Roses

We invite members of the congregation to deliver the meals we’ve prepared to Bread & Roses on the second Tuesday of each month at 10:00 am. A member of our custodial team will help you load the meal (prepared the night before) from the temple kitchen into your vehicle and a Bread & Roses staff member will help you bring the food into their kitchen. Sign up to deliver meals here.

Serve Community Meals at Bread & Roses

Once a month, Temple members serve restaurant-style and take-out dinners to guests at Bread & Roses. To join us in serving up hope on the second Tuesday of each month, from 3:15 to 6:30 pm, sign up here. Note: registration is required due to capacity limitations at Bread & Roses.

Yom Kippur Food Drive  for Bread & Roses

Temple Emanuel conducts an annual food drive to collect non-perishable foods and funds that help Bread & Roses keep its kitchen stocked. Additionally, our community collects non-perishable food items for Bread & Roses throughout the year. You can help by leaving the following items in the collection box in the temple’s coat room: canned fruit and vegetables, soup, pasta, long grain rice, tuna fish, powdered lemonade, instant milk, sugar, vegetable oil, napkins and paper towels.

Village Hub  

The Village Food Hub is a nonprofit organization founded to strengthen our community food system and make it more equitable by increasing access to healthy and nutritious food, while also reducing waste and promoting environmental sustainability.  Temple volunteers participate several times each year with other faith-based organizations to cook meals for 100 people. The Temple also hosts a weekly food drive of perishables to the Village Food Hub. 

Winter Clothing Drive  

Each year, Sisterhood of Temple Emanuel and the Social Action committee host a winter clothing drive to benefit Debbie’s Treasure Chest, an organization dedicated to supporting at-risk families in the Merrimack Valley. Donations collected through this effort help ensure that individuals and families have access to essential seasonal clothing. 

Sukkot Produce Drive  

During Sukkot, congregants are invited to contribute fresh produce to help both beautify the sukkah and support those in need. Following the holiday, all donated items are provided to Lazarus House Ministries. Common contributions include apples, squash, cabbage, carrots, onions, zucchini, and Brussels sprouts, all of which help extend the impact of the holiday’s message of gratitude and sharing. 

Share the Light: 

The committee supports Sisterhood’s annual gift campaign sponsoring children for holiday gift giving through the religious school’s 8th and 9th grade programming. 

Congregant Care & Concern

The temple arranges delivery of a delicious chicken soup meal, seasoned with care and support, to members who are bereaved.

Social Action and Social Justice

Every Voice, Every Vote Campaign

We’re proud participants in this Reform Movement civic engagement campaign, a non-partisan effort – grounded in our Jewish values and commitment to racial justice – to strengthen democracy, combat voter suppression, and protect voter participation. In partnership with the Indivisible Mass Coalition, our get-out-the-vote postcard writing campaigns encourage those who are impacted by barriers to participate in elections that impact their lives.

Social Action Speaker Series

The speaker series brings speakers to the Temple to foster education and open dialogue on topics such as: Reproductive Equity, Homelessness, Food Insecurity, the Shared Legacy of the Jewish and Black Community during the Civil Rights Movement, and Antisemitism on the College Campus. The speaker series is open to the public. 

The Lawrence Unafraid Scholarship

Temple Emanuel’s Edelstein Family Fund seeded the Lawrence Unafraid Scholarship, a fund for college-bound, Lawrence High School graduates who don’t qualify for federal financial aid because of their immigration status. Temple continues to manage this fund to help fulfill the dreams of deserving students.

Religious Action Center of Massachusetts: 

RAC-MA is a statewide project of the Union for Reform Judaism that organizes 39 congregations and nearly 14,000 household to advocate for social justice, including affordable housing, civil rights, Dignity not Deportation, and gun control.  Launched in 2022, it works in partnership with organizations like the ACLU of MA and JALSA.  Our congregation works with RAC-MA on grassroots initiatives that reflect the Reform Movement’s values.

Lazarus House  

Lazarus House Ministries, a nonprofit organization based in Lawrence, is dedicated to supporting individuals and families facing poverty, homelessness, and food insecurity.  Through a comprehensive network of programs – including emergency shelter, transitional housing, food distribution, community resources, education and advocacy – Lazarus House works to uplift the most vulnerable members of the local community with dignity, respect and compassion. Our volunteers host food drives, donate gently used clothing and household goods, and volunteer on site. 

Juneteenth  

We participate in the interfaith planning committee for an annual community-wide Juneteenth celebration which commemorates and honors its historical significance,  encourages reflection, education, and community dialogue. 

Andover Farmers Market  

The Andover Farmers Market is a non-profit that plays an important role in promoting food accessibility within our community. Through its SNAP matching program, individuals who spend $25 in SNAP benefits receive an additional $25 to use at the market, helping to expand access to fresh, healthy food. Shopping at the Andover Farmers Market not only supports local farmers.  It reduces the impact of greenhouse gases. 

Giving Garden  

Established in 2015, South Church’s Giving Garden is a half-acre organic volunteer-run farm within the Rolling Ridge Retreat & Conference Center in North Andover.  The garden produces 10,000 pounds of organic vegetables, eggs, and honey for local food pantries to fight food insecurity.  Temple volunteers have the opportunity to donate their time to this important program. 

To learn more/volunteer, kindly contact amysebell13@gmail.com. 

Thanks to congregants and friends for your donations to the Social Action Fund, which allow us to continue our social action and social justice endeavors.