Responding to Hurricane Sandy
by Abby Levine, Director of the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable
When disasters hit, the Jewish community acts, inspired by values of justice of compassion. The Jewish Social Justice Roundtable, while many of our staff and supporters were directly affected by Hurricane Sandy this week, also sprung into action - communicating, volunteering, working from home, from other parts of the country, through social media.
It couldn't be any other way. Helping others, especially the most vulnerable in our communities, is what unites the Jewish social justice community.
Though it's part of our identity, part of what we do, I am still overwhelmed by the responses from our community. Here are just a few:
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"With so many good organizations raising general funds for Hurricane Sandy relief, we are using the experience and knowhow we’ve developed working in disaster-stricken communities to focus on Newark, New Jersey, in a partnership forged with Newark’s Mayor Cory Booker." - CEO Alan van Capelle, explaining Bend the Arc's Hurricane Sandy Response Fund.
Even as we work to determine the specific impact to Reform congregations and families, and to our larger communities, it is already clear – too clear – that this storm will require a long-term, coordinated recovery effort. The Union for Reform Judaism is in the process of reaching out to all our congregations on the east coast and throughout the Midwest to determine what the most immediate needs are in impacted communities. Donate to the URJ Hurricane Relief Fund and read Prayers in Response to Natural Disasters.
We are deeply saddened by the devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy. Our grantee partners throughout the affected region have suffered a range of destruction and challenges, and they are slowly getting back to work...Some food pantries lost their entire building and are struggling with how to provide food to the people who rely on their support. Food that is available has spoiled. Getting fresh food to the devastated areas is increasingly difficult and of the highest priority. Please make a generous gift to our year-end appeal now or in the coming weeks and allow us to help our devastated communities rebuild. - Abby J. Leibman, President & CEO of Mazon
Volunteer
"Several of our partner organizations - whose inspiring work we have honored for decades - are engaged in critical hurricane relief work in their communities. On this site, we will keep you updated with information from JFREJ's partner organizations on ways you can help - either through volunteering, donating supplies, or donating funds." - Marjorie Dove Kent, Executive Director of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice Uri L’Tzedek is organizing volunteers to deliver water, batteries, and other necessities on the Lower East Side. See Rabbi Ari Hart’s twitter feed and a description of their work on their blog.
"We’ve witnessed the heroic feats of our extraordinary service men and women. Many people are now tweeting, posting, calling, emailing, and trying to figure out who needs help and where to lend a hand. Now more than ever, your community needs you. What will you help Repair? Here are a few ways you can help now." - Repair the World
Statements "After all the debates, the abundant political advertisements, JCRC’s many engagement meetings with candidates of both parties and our forum with our partners last week for the MA 4th congressional race… when Hurricane Sandy rolled through this week it finally crystalized for me what my vote should be about." - Jeremy Burton, Executive Director of the JCRC of Greater Boston Before it wreaked havoc along the East Coast, Hurricane Sandy hit Haiti, a country with few resources. For years, AJWS has been supporting grassroots community groups in Haiti who are helping to rebuild in the wake of the 2010 earthquake, which shook that country to its core. For us, the damage wrought this week in the communities in which many of our supporters live in the U.S. reminds us that when disasters strike, the most vulnerable people are hit the hardest—whether they are vulnerable because they live on a coastline, because they live without basic needs like shelter, or because they live in a country such as Haiti, which lacks a functioning emergency response system. We are currently assessing how Sandy affected our partners in Haiti and are exploring how we might contribute to recovery efforts. We will keep you posted. - Ruth Messinger, President, AJWS As awful as it is, I hope that this hurricane will mark a turning point in how, as a society, we react to climate change...If historians a century hence are able to write: the world’s response to climate change was “too little, too late” until Hurricane Sandy finally triggered real change, then this Hurricane will ultimately have done some good. I hope and trust that the next President of the USA will be someone who acknowledges the reality of climate change and leads the country in a new direction. -Nigel Savage, Executive Director of Hazon From all of us at NCJW, we share our concern and wish you strength and peace. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Now that the storm has subsided, it is time to rebuild together. While the days ahead will be challenging, we know the passion, resilience and commitment of NCJW members to their neighbors and communities will go a long way towards hastening recovery efforts. - Linda Slucker, President, and Nancy Kaufman, CEO of National Council of Jewish Women.
We are proud of the AVODAH corps members, alumni and staff who are readily volunteering their time to help those in need. Our alumni and corps members have been leveraging the power of the AVODAH network to share recommendations of where there is the greatest need for support, and their stories of involvement in the recovery are inspiring. We encourage everyone in our AVODAH community to give of their time and money to support the on-the-ground efforts to help those devastated by Sandy. - Marilyn Sneiderman, Executive Director of AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps
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