At the CEH Hanukkah party, members donated socks for children and adults at Bridges to Independence.
CEH was a sponsor of the Arlington MLK Day of Service. Members signed up for the project of their choice and enjoyed giving back to the local community, including projects such as making blankets for children in literacy programs, cleaning up parks and more!
SAC held several drives to help the community:
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- Veteran’s Day Drive: Collecting toiletries, games, books, underwear & sock for hospitalized veterans.
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- Formals for Five – collects second hand formal wear and offers it to high schools students for prom for just $5! Those fund are then donated to the schools’ Best Buddies programs. Members enjoyed purging their closets and knowing that these clothes would go to a great cause.
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- Food Justice DMV – emergency assistance for immigrants arriving in the DC area. CEH is committed to helping refugees and migrants in our communities.
Several CEH members have been volunteering with NOVA RAFT, assisting in English classes to help new Afghan refugees learn English.
We held several Homeless Bagged meal-packing events for PathForward. We do these monthly and enjoy gathering together to make sandwiches and pack bags. Members have gotten to know each other better, discuss their life circumstances and form new friendships all while helping to feed our neighbors experiencing homelessness in Arlington.
SAC helped organize two special Shabbat programs:
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- Refugee Shabbat on February 3rd: Melanie Nezer, CEH member and former staff person at HIAS, spoke about the current situation and how we can help.
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- Repro Shabbat on February 18th: During services Rav Natan taught about reproductive freedom as a Jewish value. At a Lunch & Learn session afterward, we hosted guest speaker Rob Boston, Senior Advisor for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to the principle of religious freedom. Rob shared a legal perspective behind recent limitations on abortion access and its impact on the Constitutional right of religious freedom.
During the Federation of Greater Washington’s Annual Good Deeds Week: We continued our strong partnership with PathForward by hosting Lasagna Love. CEH members made lasagnas in their homes and brought them back to CEH, where volunteers delivered them to PathForward, so people experiencing homelessness will enjoy a hearty, home cooked meal.