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Religious School Thanksgiving Food Drive Begins

10/14/2022 09:56:10 AM

Oct14

Each year, our Religious School children and families in partnership with our Social Action Committee gather food and donations to support the Goodman Community Center’s Thanksgiving baskets. Each grade competes in doing this mitzvah to see which class can collect the greatest number of canned or boxed goods, such as cranberry sauce, mac and cheese, broth, canned veggies, and more. 

We don’t have to tell you that food costs are up—you’ve probably seen the prices climb on your go-to foods yourself. Rising grocery costs have hit all our families in different ways, and some in our community will have difficulty making their holiday dollars stretch across every warm celebration of the season. Just getting the turkey will cost 57% more than in 2020! 

At a time when many are excitedly anticipating large family celebrations with platters of food and happy memories, others are wondering whether that holiday meal will find its way to the table. In the face of rising costs, we have the power to come together and ensure as many people as possible can enjoy a homemade-quality holiday meal with those they love most. 

This year, the Goodman Community Center plans to provide 4,000 families in Dane County with everything they need to prepare a Thanksgiving meal at home. That’s more than 25,000 Dane County residents (including 10,000 children!). For the first time in many years, they expect the cost of a basket to go up. They can’t do it without us!

Please contribute to the Goodman Center’s 34th annual Thanksgiving basket program in one of these ways:

  1.  Donate items from our list (one item, several items, or a whole flat!)

    Bring items to Temple and place them in the collection bins in the coatroom from October 19 until 11:00 am on Sunday, November 20. Anyone can donate these items, and the grade will be credited for the donation, even if it was made by a family with no students in our school. Our Mitzvah Core students will count the items on November 20 and load them into a Social Action Committee member’s car for delivery that afternoon. 

    We are collecting these items:

    • Boxes of macaroni and cheese (4K)
    • Boxes of stuffing (Kindergarten)
    • Aluminum roaster pans (1st grade)
    • Cans of fruit (2rd grade)
    • Cans of vegetables (3rd grade)
    • Gravy (4th grade)
    • Broth, any kind (5th grade)
    • Cans of cranberry sauce (6th grade)
    • 16–24 oz bottles of vegetable oil (7th grade)

      Collection bins in the Temple Coatroom
  2.  Make a monetary donation (online or by check)
    Let the Goodman Community Center do the shopping! They’ve worked with local businesses to get better prices, so any financial gift you make will go a long way. A donation of $80 will provide a family with a full meal. Monetary donations also help purchase perishable items such as dinner rolls, milk, butter, eggs, onions, potatoes, carrots, and pumpkin pie that are secured by the Goodman Community Center and added to the baskets.
    • Donate online: Go to the Goodman Center’s Thanksgiving Baskets page at 
      https://www.goodmancenter.org/events/thanksgiving-baskets and click Make a Donation. You will come to a donation page with a blue bar that says “Make a Gift to Our Thanksgiving Baskets Drive”: 
      Goodman Thanksgiving Drive Monetary donation screen
      Enter the amount and donation frequency and click “Donate.” On the checkout page, enter Temple Beth El in the “Gift made as part of a food drive organized by:” field to credit our food drive!
      Screenshot of where to enter "Temple Beth El" in the form to credit our drive.
    • To donate by check: 
      Make checks payable to Goodman Community Center. 
      Please include Thanksgiving Baskets (Temple Beth El) in the memo. 
      Mail checks to: 214 Waubesa St., Madison, WI 53704
  3.  Give Your Time
    It takes a lot of volunteers to make Thanksgiving baskets a success! Volunteers are needed for numerous tasks to ensure they can fill every basket. If you have time to give, learn more and sign up here: https://volunteers.goodmancenter.org/thanksgiving-basket-volunteering/

If your family needs a Thanksgiving basket:
Registration for Thanksgiving baskets opens on Monday, October 17 on the Goodman Community Center’s website. Baskets are totally free, and registrations are first-come, first-served. Open to Dane County residents only. Learn more and look for the registration here.

For more information about Thanksgiving baskets, contact Rochelle Alpert Sherman or Aleeza A. Hoffert.

We may not be able to stop the costs from going up, but we can do something to ensure that holiday memories continue to be made through food, family, and a good time. Thanks for giving so many grateful families a holiday meal to enjoy together!

April 23, 2024 15 Nisan 5784