SOCIAL ACTION COMMITTEE
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Social Action Committee
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The mission of the Social Action Committee is to make Judaism’s commitment to the principles of Tikkun Olam an integral part of everyday life within the congregation. The committee organizes projects, events and experiences through which we can help repair our world locally, regionally, and globally through action and advocacy.
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Click on any of the icons below to learn more about the Social Action Committee here at COS-SJCC and what we do!
Enjoy some photos below from some of our most recent events!
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For more information, please contact our chairs Stacey Sacks or Heidi Block.
Mitzvah Day
The Social Action Committee (SAC) sends a huge TODAH RABAH to the 150+ members of Congregation Ohr Shalom who participated in our third annual Mitzvah Day on Sunday, May 4. Whether you knitted hats, got your hands dirty in the garden, or just donated some supplies, you were a tangible part of the event, which was recently renamed in memory of our longtime congregant, Elaine Hoffman, who passed away in March. At our 2025 Elaine Hoffman Mitzvah Day in the Ohr Shalom social hall, we: · Made 275 essential period packs that will go to underserved girls in East Orange. · Knitted 31 hats for babies at Overlook hospital, with more on the way. · Arranged 60 vases of flowers: 33 to homebound persons, including COS members, Holocaust survivors, Jewish veterans, and to Jewish patients at Morristown Hospital, as well as 27 to Jewish Lantern Hill residents, including several congregants. · Packed nearly 125 bags filled with markers, crayons, coloring books, play-doh, bubbles, stickers, and anti-slip socks to support and bring joy to young patients at 15 locations of Children’s Specialized Hospital. · Assembled 120 laundry kits, providing detergent and dryer sheets for 240 loads of laundry to unhoused people supported by Help 4 All. · Made 25 bagged sandwich lunches with fruit, snacks and water for unhoused individuals at SHIP. We donated the extra ingredients and packing supplies as well. · Crafted 86 key chains, 21 bracelets, and countless cards that will be sent to Israeli soldiers through Yashar LaChayal to show them our appreciation. · Organized 150 pounds of food into 36 bags of soup kits for MEND, a hunger relief network that provides food to 20 food pantries in the area. Outside of the building, we planted tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots, sugar snap peas, and local perennial pollinators in the Ohr Shalom garden, some of which we will eventually donate to SHIP. Additionally, a group of volunteers cleaned up the Passaic River trails. It was wonderful to see so many members of the Ohr Shalom family working together to support these great causes. People of all ages pitched in, and we accomplished so much as one huge team of individuals and families who chose to spend their time making a difference in the world. The spirit of tikkun olam was palpable! The SAC’s next project will be to partner with Family Promise in July. We are always looking for new committee members, so please email Stacey Sacks (stacey91403@yahoo.com) if you are interested in joining us!
Family Promise
Family Promise COS-SJCC has proudly volunteered with Family Promise, a wonderful organization that supports families who are at risk for or are experiencing homelessness. They provide prevention, diversion, and shelter programs geared toward long-term independence. For many years, for two weeks in January and two weeks in July, our social hall became a temporary home for families needing safe shelter, meals, and friendship. Since the onset of the Covid pandemic, Family Promise had to change the shelter model, but these families still need our support. We continue to participate by making monetary and food donations, donating grocery store gift cards, household supplies, seasonal needs, and delivering home-cooked meals to the Family Promise guest families. We look forward to being involved in other Family Promise Union County activities and programs. For more information on how you can get involved, please contact Elaina Luboff at elainal1215@aol.com or leave a message at (908) 230-1507.
GRACE
Grocery Distribution GRACE (Giving and Receiving Assistance for our Community’s Essentials) was formed during COVID and continues to provide grocery distribution weekly in Summit. Every week 70-100 volunteers help unpack, store, bag, and distribute up to 16,000 pounds of food and supplies to share with 2,200-3,300 community members. On the first Thursday of every month, a group of SJCC congregants help unload and pack groceries for distribution at the Summit Community Center.
Knitting Baby Hats
Our congregants knit baby hats and booties for Overlook Hospital newborn babies. We first knitted hats leading up to our first Mitzvah Day and a group of volunteers continues to meet and knit together on an ongoing basis. We provide the materials and knitting lessons for beginners.
Hospital Visits
Overlook Hospital Visits We visit sick Jewish patients at Overlook hospital on a weekly basis. Contact Maurice de Picciotto at mdepicciotto@aol.com for more details.
Food Drive
Throughout the year, we organize various drives such as the Yom Kippur Food Drive, which in 2023 benefitted Family Promise, SHIP, and Bobrow Kosher Food Pantry. Each year, we collect turkeys to donate to the Community Food Bank in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. In addition to your participation, we seek your ideas for future mitzvot in order to continue our service to the community.
