Social Action

Social Action Efforts

Our congregation's commitment to social action focuses on a variety of projects in the spirit of tikkun olam to help the community and world.

Our ongoing Thoughtful Thursdays program in partnership with the Jewish Federation of Fort Wayne and Congregation B'nai Jacob helps 70 children who attend Temple Head Start. We are excited to be a winner of the 2013 Irving J. Fain Social Action Award! We received the honor at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism's Consultation on Conscience in Washington, DC. Find out more about Thoughtful Thursdays or see our program brochure.

In addition to Thoughtful Thursdays, Achduth Vesholom has an annual High Holy Days food drive to assist local food banks, including Community Harvest, Wellspring Interfaith Social Services, and Associated Churches. Take a grocery bag home on Rosh Hashanah and bring it back on Yom Kippur filled with non-perishable items. Our Hanukkah food drive also helps in the community. During Purim, we ask everyone to bring boxes of macaroni and cheese to use as groggers during the service and then donate the items to the needy.

The Temple Youth Group selects tikkun olam projects annually to assist a variety of organizations. Our Religious School students participate in tzedakah projects.

Our members support MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, including encouraging our b'nei mitzvah students to donate a portion of their gifts to feed the hungry. We ask our members to support MAZON, especially during the High Holy Days and Passover.

Achduth Vesholom is one of 16 supporting congregations of Wellspring Interfaith Social Services.

We're also part of the Northeast Indiana LGBTQ Coalition. Our Temple board completed Safe Space training to become affirming allies of the LGBTQ community. Our members also are invited to attend a Safe Space seminar.

To find out more about how you can help, contact the Temple office (260) 744-4245.

Mitzvah Day

Mitzvah Day 2018 brought together more than 80 congregants on a beautiful Sunday morning to tend to the Temple’s section at Lindenwood Cemetery. Many members wore t-shirts provided by Areyvut reminding us of the importance of “Doing Good.”

In a ceremony led by Rabbi Lenny, we buried damaged sacred books and said Kaddish. We cleaned headstones for loved ones and those we didn’t know. We placed stones of remembrance decorated by our Religious School students. And we shared stories about the history of the Temple and some of those buried at Lindenwood.

Afterward we returned to the Temple for socializing and lunch, including a visit from an ice cream truck. Thanks to those who shared in a special day!

Religious Action Center News