Temple Beth El Blog

We’ve done a survey of our partner programs to see how they are adapting to the pandemic and what kind of support they can use right now. If you are able to, making a monetary donation is one of the most helpful things you can do. There are some limited volunteer opportunities, mostly for people in low-risk health categories.

Hunger Relief

Second Harvest Foodbank
Instead of having customers visit the food bank, Second Harvest has initiated its Care Box Project, packing and delivering boxes of nutritious food to families in need. The Social Action Committee has recently donated the last portion of the High Holy Day Food Drive funds to the Care Box Project. You can make an additional donation here.

Due to health and safety concerns, Second Harvest is only accepting healthy volunteers age 12–64 years during the coronavirus outbreak. Volunteers work in large open space with appropriate social distancing. You can sign up here and find a time that works for you.

Goodman Community Center
Most programs are closed, along with the buildings. Staff and volunteers arehonoring social distancing as they prepare meals for delivery and bags of groceries for people to pick up. You can bring prepackaged nonperishable food donations, reusable bags, and sturdy boxes to the Ironworks Building, 149 Waubesa St. See here for details. Low-risk volunteers welcome.

Catholic Multicultural Center
The Catholic Multicultural Center’s meal program is currently providing grab-and-go meals for guests to take with them from the center’s parking lot. The food pantry is also grab-and-go from the parking lot, with Catholic Multicultural Center staff and volunteers doing the shopping from customer orders. Donations of money, food, and personal essentials are very welcome. See here for current needs, procedures, and online donation.

If you are interested in preparing food at home for delivery to the Catholic Multicultural Center, please contact Sue Levy.

Thoreau Elementary School Weekend Food Bags
Right before school ended, Thoreau staff, parents, and volunteers collected and delivered a week’s worth of groceries to 125 families. Food distribution now continues in partnership with Leopold Elementary, Midvale-Lincoln Elementary, and West High School. The partnership allows Thoreau to share the use of Westminster Church as a relief site; coordinate the use of United Way volunteers for contacting, packaging, and delivery; and serve the families associated with the various schools. Here’s a news article about the program.

To support these families, the best thing you can do is to donate money. So many families are already feeling the financial strain, and it will likely get worse in the coming weeks. The donated funds will address additional food needs above and beyond what Second Harvest can provide and will help families with other needs (toiletries, rent, utilities, gas, etc.). For information on how to donate, contact Alexa at 608-320-6929 or call the school.

Homelessness

Porchlight
Porchlight has opened two new shelters to provide more housing and to separate men who are sick from those who are healthy. The county is catering meals for both shelters, so no meals are currently needed from volunteers. Porchlight will contact volunteer groups when they return to Grace Episcopal Church and we are needed to prepare and serve meals again. You can support Porchlight during this time by donating online or visiting their Facebook page to monitor current needs.

The Road Home
If you are looking for ways to help our community during the COVID-19 crisis, please consider making a donation to support vulnerable families served by The Road Home. The Road Home will use these funds to help families in its housing programs cover expenses such as rent and groceries, as many have lost work during this crisis. If you prefer to donate items, please order them online and have them delivered to The Road Home at 890 W. Wingra Dr., Madison, WI 53715. See the wish list for the most urgent needs.

Healing House
Healing House is operating and has implemented safety protocols. They are working closely with city and county staff and other homeless service providers to keep residents safe. For now, the congregational meal program is continuing in modified form as volunteers drop off uncooked meals to be cooked by staff. Things may change by our next shift at the end of May.

Madison-area Urban Ministry (MUM) appreciates your donations for all its programs, including Healing House, prison and re-entry programs, Just Bakery, and Mentoring Connections.They also suggest that you support local restaurants that have supported MUM in the past, including Short Stack Eatery, Cranberry Creek Café, Food Fight Restaurants, and HotelRED.

Immigration

Dane Sanctuary Coalition
Temple Beth El is a member of the Dane Sanctuary Coalition, joining with other congregations and organizations to support immigrants in our community. The coalition works with the Dane County government and Madison Community Foundation to support the Immigrant Assistance Fund. This fund pays for legal services, emergency aid, bail, travel costs, and other aid for undocumented immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees in Dane County.

Dane Sanctuary Coalition is looking for volunteers with public relations and/or fundraising experience to be part of a small committee to work with the Immigration Collaborative and move this effort forward. For more information, and to volunteer, please contact Rabbi Bonnie Margulis. You can read more about the fund and donate here.

Racial Justice

Nehemiah Center
Many TBE members have attended the “Black History for a New Day” program for white allies, offered through the Nehemiah Center and Fountain of Life Church. Nehemiah is providing emergency services to the South Madison community in the current crisis. These include food baskets for individuals and families (with special emphasis on those with small children, guardians with mobility issues, and seniors); emotional support services over the phone or through video chat mechanisms to reduce isolation; financial support in an effort to help reduce the incidence of increased stressors on the family, including assistance with transportation, medication, and co-pays; and rental assistance. Monetary gifts are the most useful because they can be used where they are most needed. Checks or gift cards can be sent to 655 W. Badger Rd., Madison, WI 53713, or you can donate online.

African American Council of Churches
The African American Council of Churches (AACC) has joined with the Lighthouse Church to create a Psalm 46 Relief Fund for the African American and Latinx communities. Through their services, these churches help a segment of the population of Madison that experiences the greatest food and housing insecurity and is chronically underemployed. Less than 20% of adults in the African American and Hispanic community can work from home; most of them work in service industry businesses like restaurants, hotels, and cleaning services, which have been hit the hardest at this time. A great number of them are losing their jobs and are at risk of losing their housing.

All the funds raised will be divided among the Lighthouse Church and the AACC to speed the process of helping the families that need it the most. You can donate online or send a check payable to Lighthouse Church, 6402 Schroeder Rd., Madison, WI 53711. Please note that the donation is for the “Psalm 46 Relief Fund.”

General Opportunities

Jewish Social Services Needs “Friendly Callers”
JSS is looking for volunteers to become "friendly callers" to call clients who are now very isolated. They also could use some help with shopping. Please check for additional volunteer opportunities at jssmadison.org or contact Paul Borowsky at 608-442-4083. Please also consider making a donation to Jewish Social Services to help clients with basic necessities like housing, food, and medicine. Click here to make a donation.

United Way Is Coordinating Volunteers for Many Community Organizations
United Way of Dane County has compiled a list of volunteer opportunities specifically needed during the pandemic. This includes anetwork of volunteers to support food packaging and deliveries to families while following CDC protocols around sanitation and social distancing.United Way also offers a guide to safe practices for volunteering your time and donating material goods.

United Way of Wisconsin and Serve Wisconsin can put you touch with people and organizations in need. Those include:

• Remote or in-home projects that can be done over the phone or by computer, making items for those in need, or finding ways to check in with neighbors.
• Information on donating food, supplies, or blood.
• In-person volunteering for meal or food distribution, delivery of needed supplies to homes, child care for medical and other critical workers, or other projects.

For more information, visit Volunteer Wisconsin here.