YOU ARE INVITED!! SOCIAL ACTION PROJECT FOR THE HIGH HOLIDAYS... I'd like to invite parents and children (and ANYONE else who is interested) to our house this Sunday for Pizza, poster-making, and box decorating for the Sierra Leone children project. I'm thinking 6:00PM? Please bring any craft supplies you think might come in handy... RSVP ASAP 4 Helen Court, YS 767-9293 Looking forward to seeing you , Cheryl ----- Original Message ----- From: Cheryl Levine To: Havurah Listserv Sent: Wednesday, September 01, 2004 9:14 PM Subject: [yshavurah] Re: Social Action Project for the High Holidays Would anyone be interested in meeting at my house with kids to make some posters and expand the S.Lkids project beyond the Havurah? We could make up some flyers or make some contacts with area churches, or schools...let me know. If you're interested, we can set a date. Cheryl ----- Original Message ----- From: Cheryl Levine To: Havurah Listserv Cc: Randy Longenecker ; Deb Rothenberg ; Andrea Herman ; Fregeau, Morissa (GEI, GEFA) Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 8:45 PM Subject: [yshavurah] Social Action Project for the High Holidays Hi All, I've been thinking about a way to address these High Holidays in light of what's happening in the world, and I'm tired of feeling like there's nothing much I can do. I wonder if you would be interested in a project that involves collecting clothes and school supplies for the children of Sierra Leone. Here's the information that pulled me in...I also like the idea of our Havurah children participating in Tikkun Olam by helping other children: Old Clothes, New Friends Clothing Drive for Children of Sierra Leone Sierra Leone is a country that does not receive much press coverage; however, the hardships and suffering of the people of Sierra Leone are very real. The children of Sierra Leone have borne the greatest abuse. During an eleven-year civil war from 1991 to 2002, they were subjected to brutal violence and recruited as military combatants. They lost parents, homes, schools and medical care. Some three thousand children still beg in the streets of Freetown naked, hungry and often missing limbs, victims of wanton cruelties. Faced with this knowledge, we must place ameliorating human suffering at the forefront of our collective consciousness. To this end, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism has partnered with Saving Needy Children and Arms Around Africa, two non-profit humanitarian organizations helping the people of Sierra Leone, to hold a Sierra Leone Clothing Drive during the summer months. This is the first time that Saving Needy Children and Arms Around Africa have partnered with a Jewish organization. During the Holy Days, we read the famous charge from Isaiah: "Is not this the fast I look for: to unlock the shackles of injustice, to undo the fetters of bondage, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every cruel chain? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and to bring the homeless poor into your house? When you see the naked, to clothe them, and never to hide yourself from your own kin?" Together, we affirm yet again the Jewish tradition of seeking justice and tikkun olam (repair of the world) and together we will do our part to give the children of Sierra Leone reason for hope of a better future. ******************************************************************************************************** For these High Holy Days, I'd like for us to place a box at Rockford Chapel that we can fill and send. It may not be much, but it's something. Maybe Antioch School would like to participate, or the Quaker community. Maybe others? If folks don't feel like doing this as a group, you can send a box of clothing directly from your home; we're asked to label it as follows: The Religious Action Center's Sierra Leone Clothing Drive c/o Saving Needy Children/Arms Around Africa Mission Center 5 Pleasant View Drive PO Box 2053 Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 DONATION/NO VALUE Items for collection include: shoes, t-shirts, shorts, underwear, socks, hats, head scarves, sports equipment, toys, and school supplies. They may new or gently used, and suitable for children of any age. All items will be delivered to orphanages and camps. For more information, see the website: http://www.rac.org/pubs/sl.html Thanks, Cheryl