Food Drive for Seattle Jewish Family Service

Thanks to a fantastic response from the Congregation Kol Ami membership, we raised a huge amount of food - an estimated 750 lbs so far - to help restock the shelves at the JFS Food Bank. We will be taking part in the community wide Food Sort to organize all the food donations that JFS has received from across the region. This event will be on Sunday October 18th.

Contact Tikkun Olam chair, Peter Gurevich, for more information

Kol Ami does a variety of regular social action programs throughout the year.  A very large percentage of our community participates in these efforts.  In addition, we launch special efforts to support urgent, current causes as the need arises.  We focus on both tzedakah and advocacy for change in the pursuit of justice.  The following is a list of recent actions organized by the Tikkun Olam committee.

• Gift drives every Chanukah in support of needy Jewish families nominated by Seattle's Jewish Family Service (JFS).
• Gift drives every Christmas in support of victims of domestic abuse nominated by the Eastside Domestic Violence Program (EDVP).
• Volunteer gift wrapping during holiday season at local stores; proceeds go to EDVP.
• Food drives every Yom Kippur to support local food banks; most recently the food bank at JFS.
• Fundraising appeal every Yom Kippur that supports Mazon's national and global efforts to fight the causes of hunger.
• Teaching a 2007 adult ed class at Kol Ami on the Jewish ethical imperative for social action.
• Sponsorship of a 2007 benefit concert for Darfur organized by a student group (a chapter of STAND) at Western Washington University.
• Volunteer participation in 2007 One Night Count of the Homeless organized by Seattle King County Coalition for the Homeless (SKCCH).
• Leadership participation in the Puget Sound Jewish Coalition on Homelessness (PSJCH).