Tzedek, tzedek, tirdof . . . Justice, justice shall you pursue. (Deut. 16:20)

Social Action Survey - Let Every Voice Be Heard!

Through the Social Action Committee, Adat Shalomers are involved in a wide variety of projects to help those less fortunate than us and to make our world more just and compassionate. This survey will help us know what projects most speak to you, and help you find your place within those existing activities.

At the same time, there has been a great deal of discussion at Adat Shalom about developing a larger vision of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world). Some members have suggested developing one or two overarching programs in which a large part of the community could participate. Others have advocated creating many more opportunities to involve our children and families. And some have stressed the importance of moving up Maimonides’ scale to focus not only on feeding the hungry, but also on helping the hungry to feed and organize themselves so they have a real voice in society. This survey will help us turn such general concepts into specific new programs by gathering essential information about your interests and ideas.

As you can see, this survey is a vital tool both to carry out our current work and to chart exciting new directions. In order to make it work, we need - surprise! - lots and lots of Adat Shalomers to fill it out. To ensure maximum participation, we have taken two steps:

1. We’ve kept it short. You can complete the survey in ten minutes. We know. We tested it!

2. We are giving you a choice of three different ways to complete and return it.

a. Drop it in the "Social Action Survey" Box in the lobby at synagogue;

b. Mail it in: Victor Rezmovic; 10505 Democracy Lane; Potomac, MD 20854;

c. Fill it out on our website (http://www.jrf.org/adatsmd/) and submit it electronically.

We appreciate the few minutes it will take for you to fill this out and return it. Please return this form by October 22, 2001.

Part I: Tell Us About You & Your Family

Date:

Your name:
Phone Number:
EMail Address:

Second adult, if any:
Phone number, if different:
EMail Address:

Would you like to receive occasional e-mails about Adat Shalom social action?

Yes    No

Your occupation/profession:

What skills or labor would you like to share in social action work? (Be creative. This could be anything: manual labor, architecture, construction, writing, computer expertise, public relations, legal, policy, mediation, mentoring/education, statistics, art, foreign languages.)

When are you most likely to do social action work? (Check all that apply.)

Weekdays   Weekday evenings   Sundays

Do you have children or grandchildren you would like to involve in Adat Shalom social action?

Yes    No

If so, what ages are they?

Please share with us a few words about how you see the involvement of children in Tikkun Olam.

Part II: Ongoing Activities

Our ongoing activities appear below, listed alphabetically. They are each described briefly after the question. Please look over those descriptions and indicate the activities in which you would like to participate by placing a check in the appropriate space, below. We encourage you to check as many activities as you might reasonably participate in.

Time-Specific Events	Ongoing Opportunities
Hoops for Hunger	Environmental Action (in general)
Kans for Kol Nidre	Environmental Action (at 7727 Persimmon Tree Lane)
Passover Food Project	Interfaith Housing Coalition
Rosh Hashanah Food Project	International Rescue Committee
Sukkot in April	Luther Place Women’s Shelter
Tikkun Olam Study Series	Manna
	Social Action for Kids and Youth
	Yad L’Yad

DETAILS OF ONGOING SOCIAL ACTION PROJECTS

Environmental Action (in general): Help develop Adat Shalom's environmental action activism. (Annie Petsonk)

Environmental Action (at 7727 Persimmon Tree Lane): Help make our property an oasis of peace and a model of environmental stewardship. (Cheryl Kollin)

Hoops for Hunger: This fun annual event, an inter-synagogue basketball tournament that takes place after Purim, gives us an opportunity to raise money and awareness on behalf of Mazon, A Jewish Response to Hunger. (Peter Haas)

Interfaith Housing Coalition: Support a family in transition from homelessness to independence, in partnership with IHC. (Gerry Ehrenstein)

International Rescue Committee: Join a network of supporters of area refugee and immigrant families, in partnership with the IRC. (Susan White Haag)

Kans for Kol Nidre: On Kol Nidre, bring a grocery bag of canned goods to services at Wheaton High School. Staff from the Manna Food Center will distribute the food to those in need. (Debbie Ehrenstein)

Luther Place Women’s Shelter Monthly Adat Shalom Night: Help prepare meals and interact with residents at this shelter in downtown D.C. (David Kagan-Kans)

Manna: Pack food boxes for needy families at Manna Food Center on the third Tuesday of every month. Great activity for kids. (Altan Gabbay)

Passover Food Project: Support those needing help during the holidays by delivering food. Good for families to do together. (Debbie Ehrenstein)

Rosh Hashanah Food Project: Support those needing help during the holidays by delivering food. Good for families to do together. (Debbie Ehrenstein)

Social Action for Kids and Youth: We want to make a special effort to increase social action opportunities for our young people. Help make this happen! (Louise Milkman)

Sukkot in April: Sunday, April 28, 2002. Help fix up a house for someone in need working through Yachad. This is an Adat Shalom classic, great for kids above a certain age. (Jayme Epstein)

Tikkun Olam Study Series: Learn more about the Jewish roots of social justice work in a series of adult education sessions with Rabbi Fred. Dates to be announced. (Andy Levin)

Yad L’Yad: Join in Adat Shalom’s efforts to provide support for, and build links with, our sister Jewish community in Briansk, Russia. Russian speakers especially are encouraged to lend a voice! (Mario Greszes)

Part III - New Initiatives

A. General goals and values. In general, which values would you like to see emphasized in Adat Shalom’s social action work? Please rank the following items in order of importance for you by selcting a number next to each, with one (1) being the most important and five (5) the least.

Rank 1 2 3 4 5 Working to increase social justice, not just provide social service (moving up Maimonides’ Ladder)

Rank 1 2 3 4 5 Doing diversity - working in partnership with African Americans, Latinos or others

Rank 1 2 3 4 5 Interfaith - working together with congregations of other faiths

Rank 1 2 3 4 5 Having a big, multifaceted, "signature" project in which much of the congregation participates

Rank 1 2 3 4 5 Involving our children and youth

B. Specific Project ideas. In particular, what do you think about the specific ideas described below? Please read the descriptions below, and then answer the following questions:

Project Idea	Good Idea? (Yes or No)	I want to work on this
(1) Faith-to-Faith Partnership	Yes No
(2) Interfaith work for social justice	Yes No
(3) International human rights	Yes No

(1) Faith-to-Faith Partnership. Adat Shalom identifies a Black or Hispanic church with which to undertake a major social action partnership. We do this with the help of Yachad, the Jewish nonprofit community development corporation that organizes Sukkot in April (and is run by Adat Shalomer Audrey Lyon). The ideal partnership would involve true mutuality and joint strategic planning, not just an opportunity for "us" to help "them." It would involve work to increase social justice, not only social service. It would feature multiple components and thus multiple ways for Adat Shalomers to bring their skills and energy to bear. And it would afford our kids an opportunity to work on social action projects directly with the partner congregation’s kids.

(2) Interfaith Work for Social Justice. Now that we are settled in our new home in Bethesda, our congregation can get involved in local work to increase social justice. Working with members of other congregations, Adat Shalomers would help identify pressing social needs in Montgomery County and work to see those needs met through advocacy at the local level. We might do this through Action in Montgomery (AIM), a nonpartisan community group comprised of twenty area churches and synagogues. Last year, AIM worked successfully to improve transportation for seniors, expand all-day kindergarten to more schools, and increase the county’s commitment to affordable housing. The group formulates its agenda each year through a series of grassroots house meetings. Adat Shalomers could bring a great variety of skills to bear in developing and advocating for changes sought by AIM. Many of the issues could also be incorporated into Torah School classes and thus reach our kids.

(3) International Human Rights. Adat Shalom=s guidelines tell us that, "The mitzvah of Tikkun Olam obliges us to help alleviate . . . oppression among all people." How might Adat Shalom reach out to those who now suffer persecution in other parts of the world? Activities for a new initiative might include educating our community (e.g., bringing in speakers), networking with other concerned organizations (Jewish, inter-denominational, and others), and direct advocacy work (e.g., circulating petitions, increasing public awareness, writing open letters, and contacting members of Congress). Again, the issues could be incorporated into Torah School classes. Congregation members interested in this area might pick a particular human rights issue to work on in a given year, or might work on a variety of issues as individuals or in small groups.

C. Your own ideas. Please write in the space below any additional project ideas you may have for Adat Shalom’s community-wide involvement, or offer any other comments about how we could improve Adat Shalom’s social action program. (Attach additional sheets if necessary.)

Please complete the survey by clicking "Mail this Information" below. As we sort through ideas for new projects, we will offer presentations to the community on the ideas that seem most promising. Stay tuned! For questions about Social Action, please contact Andy Levin (301/587-3514, levinandy@aol.com) or Louise Milkman (202/362-9406, lmilkman@aol.com).

Thank you for participating in the survey!

When finished, click here to