RSJI: HOMELESSNESS
It is a positive commandment to give charity to the poor…as it says: “You shall open your hand to him and you shall strengthen the stranger that dwells with you and your brother shall live with you.” (Rambam, Misheh Torah, Matanot Ani’im, 7:1)
The Temple's RSJI Homelessness group works on issues of homelessness in Atlanta, with a special emphasis on supporting our very own center for couples experiencing homelessness, the Zaban Paradies Center. We are always looking for more volunteers and leaders; please email us with any questions or to get involved!
The RSJI Public Education and Homelessness groups have joined together to help support financially disadvantaged children at Toomer Elementary School. Each Friday, 29 children go home with a nondescript backpack filled with non-perishable food items for the weekend. These children are confidentially selected by the school administration and school social worker. Our Backpack Buddies program helps ensure that these children have nutritious meals on the weekends when they are not receiving lunch or breakfast at school.
We are able to continue this program thanks to generous donations by our Temple members. Please consider purchasing items on the Amazon Wish List. If you are interested in volunteering to help sort and/or deliver items to Toomer, please contact Stacey Berg.
- To support the Zaban Paradies Center by organizing members to help provide for the needs of our residents, including regular dinner cooking and serving, holiday celebrations, and various types of job training and therapeutic assistance.
- To create awareness in The Temple community about the collateral effects of poverty and homelessness on children and their families through educational programs and direct action.
- The Homelessness group has been an essential part of the volunteer corps for the Zaban Paradies Center. We enjoy creating meals to serve to our residents there.
- We partner with the Women’s Rights group and the Public Education group to throw a Period Pack Party, a gathering in which donated feminine supplies are sorted and packed into distributable packages. This program began after we realized that many young women were missing a week of school each month for lack of these essential supplies.
- We partner with the Backpack Buddies to provide students in public schools with backpacks full of food to feed their families. Each week, backpacks are packed full of canned foods and dropped off at schools that have been identified as serving the students at greatest risk of hunger.
