Caring Goes Virtual

CARING IN THE VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT

Dear Kol Amites,

At the beginning of March 2020, we joyously celebrated Purim.  Then life went virtual.  Life seemed tumultuous, fragile, uncertain.  This fragility and uncertainty touched us in different ways and touched our congregation.

And yet we are surviving.  And we are growing as a community.  And we are supporting one another.  We look inside ourselves to find sources of strength, talents and resources.  And when our strength is challenged, we find support among one another.  

I am so thankful for each of you and all the ways you are reaching out with compassion and resolve.  I have witnessed Kol Ami’s compassion and generosity and find that it grows even when we are tested.

Our Tikkun Olam and Care & Concern Committees have united at this time, drawing strength and motivation from the chesed we are witnessing in our congregation.  They see needs at Kol Ami and in our wider community and they are providing a response.

For some congregants our response will be to support you, whether it is medical or food deliveries, a little extra funds to get through the week, connection with social services or connection with one another.  For some congregants, we count our blessings that we can safely and with some security shelter in place.  Perhaps like the Four Children at the Passover Seder, each of us has something to give and some things we need.  

If one of your needs is to give back or thank and recognize others at this time, our Tikkun Olam and Care & Concern Committees humbly offer the following recommendations:

• Support the needs in our congregation with a donation to the Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund. 
• Assist our local community by donating urgently needed blood to the Red Cross or giving financial support or non-perishables to the Capital Area Food Bank.  
• Participate in Toni’s “Colors of Gratitude” project personalizing thank you cards for front line workers in your neighborhoods and on this emergency responders list the Care & Concern Team provided. Start on your own, then join us for coloring Zoom calls – dates to be announced.
• Even as we shelter in place, there’s a huge need for volunteers to staff crisis hot lines.
• Outside of the US, to support refugees and those in countries without adequate medical care, you can donate to the International Rescue Committee, founded by Albert Einstein after WWII. .

In true Kol Ami fashion, virtually everyone has stepped up in extraordinary ways during this extraordinary time. For this I feel so blessed.  We’ll continue doing what we can.  If you are able to provide funding or volunteer time, please consider the options above.  If you are struggling with needs of your own, please contact Rabbi Gilah or the Care & Concern Committee.

Together we will get through this time of physical isolation with an extra dose of compassion, generosity and gratitude for the blessings in our lives and in our community.

 Rabbi Gilah and the Tikkun Olam and Care & Concern Committees