To live up to the Jewish values of tikkun olam (repairing the world), tzedek chevrati (social justice), and gemilut chassadim (acts of loving-kindness), the Commission on the Jewish People (COJP) at UJA-Federation of New York strives to foster a sense of responsibility for the collective among Jewish communities worldwide. In honor of Jewish Social Action Month — the month of Cheshvan (October 30th through November 27th) — the COJP Task Force on New York Jewry has funded 17 Jewish social-action and community-service programs taking place here during Jewish Social Action Month.
Learn more about the community-service programs we're supporting during the month of Cheshvan, or volunteer your time in honor of Jewish Social Action Month:
American Jewish Committee Colgate Society
Three-pronged Cheshvan program (direct service, fundraising, and education) helps local refugee families.
Bronfman Center for Jewish Life at NYU
Social Action Weekend includes Shabbat meals, service activities for Sunday, and options for yearlong service projects.
Columbia/Barnard Hillel
Community-service day for 200 students from Hillels throughout New York City.
Congregation Sons of Israel
Congregants go on a mission where they will join the Conservative congregation of Shir Chadesh in New Orleans and volunteer for a day in this devastated city.
F.E.G.S. Health and Human Services System
Volunteers help package and distribute environmental-awareness kits, including energy-efficient lightbulbs.
Jewish Child Care Association of New York
Community-service program provides teens with internships at the Bukharian Jewish Museum and organizes various discussion groups with Jewish teens.
Jewish Community Center in Manhattan
Volunteer visits to nursing-home residents.
Jewish Community Center of Staten Island
Program trains teens in "medical clowning" and has them volunteer at a Chanukah carnival for special-needs youth.
Jewish Community Council of Canarsie
Social-action program provides emergency CPR and first-aid training to volunteers who help restock and clean Hatzolah ambulances.
Kings Bay YM-YWHA
Teen participants engage in a variety of ongoing service activities with the elderly.
Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty
Volunteers prepare and deliver meals to low-income seniors
Pelham Jewish Center
Program includes four sessions of learning or volunteering, each on a different topic: environment, elderly, hunger and homelessness, or children.
Samuel Field Y
Jews from a variety of age groups and religious backgrounds participate in programs serving the elderly throughout the month.
Shorefront YM-YWHA of Brighton-Manhattan Beach
Toy, book, and hat drive for Jewish orphans from the Ukraine.
Sviva Israel
Recycling competition between Israeli and American Jewish schools.
Temple Beth El of Great Neck
Program helps mentor Hispanic youth.
Young Israel of Forest Hills
Sephardic and Ashkenazi youth volunteer together to deliver food and make gifts for the elderly or ill.
