You may have noticed some updates on our website thanks to our fabulous webmaster, Sergey at Stereojam.
When you are peaking around the updates, don’t overlook our freshly added page, Testimonials from Homeowners and Partners. There you can read touching letters of support from some of our recipients. It will make you smile and may even influence you to support our work.
Yachad had 22 volunteers join together to repair the headquarters of Strive DC (a nonprofit for employment training and career development for the unemployed). As one volunteer wrote,
“The experience and turnout was exceptional. The people were terrific and I can’t wait for the next project.”
Yachad offers a volunteer day for all individuals on federal holidays. The project was funded in part by Adas Israel and the PCUCC, as the two congregations joined forces for the third year in a row, to sponsor a Yachad project on Veterans Day.
A special thanks to Joel Fischman, Laura Epstein and Lynda Mack, who were the wonderful organizers from Adas Israel and PCUCC.
Also, a special thanks to the sorority sisters from Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority and the students of Lutheran College Washington Semester, and of course, Chris Hart-Wright of Strive DC.
NIF, Ameinu and Yachad
Invite you to a presentation on Israel’s social justice protests:
Dror Israel:
The Struggle for Social Justice and the
New Model of Kibbutz
Featuring a photo exhibit of the tent protests
Dror Israel visit courtesy of Ameinu
Photo exhibit of Social Justice Tent Protests courtesy of NIF
Thursday November 10
7:00-8:30pm
Religious Action Center
2027 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC
Light refreshments and coffee served
Dror Israel is one of the leading organizations in the tents movement, consisting of about 1,200 young Israelis ages 23-37, who chose to create a new Chalutzic (pioneering) lifestyle – The Educators Kibbutzim.
Gilad Perry is a founding member of Dror Israel’s Kibbutz Eshbal, one of the first Educators Kibbutzim, and the Eshbal Boarding School for underprivileged youth from the Ethiopian community, where he still teaches music. He now serves as the overseas coordinator of Dror Israel.
Sivan Bamberger made Aliyah from Northern Virginia in 2000. She joined Dror Israel’s Educators Kibbutz in Hadera where she coordinates a year abroad program for Jewish 18 year olds from the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Holland. She also develops and runs educational programming for the continued training of young educators.
This event is free but please RSVP to Sarah Lawson, slawson@nif.org
In case you missed it, this was this year’s video at the Community Builders Bash in honor of Nancy and Alan Bubes. Enjoy! The music is by Florence + The Machine.
This speech was given by one of Yachad’s homeowners at this year’s Community Builders Bash in honor of the wonderful Nancy and Alan Bubes. It was so touching we thought we would share it with everyone.
My name is Connie Mobley and I am a proud recipient of Yachad’s home repair assistance program. Back in June, Nancy and Alan worked to repair my home in SE Washington, through Yachad’s Mitzvah Party program. They brought their friends and family to help work side-by-side with me to repair my home. We rolled up our sleeves and went to work together. I can’t tell you how overwhelmed with happiness and love I felt at the end of the day. Not only did I have a house I was proud of again, my attitude about the world we live in had been changed by knowing that people do care. I have worked with many nonprofits in my life and I have never seen an organization work the way Yachad does-in such a personal manner. I truly felt that at the end of the day, these people that had come into my home in the morning as strangers, were now family. By getting our hands dirty and working together, we had all been transformed. I want to thank you all for supporting Yachad. I want to congratulate Nancy and Alan for being such wonderful people. Thank you all.
Have off next Friday? Before you start making plans to pay your bills and clean your house, why not really celebrate Veteran’s day by signing up for Yachad’s We the People Federal Holiday Program! We need volunteers to help us finish up important repairs at the Rising Sun Baptist Church’s community center. All are welcome (14 and over) with particular interest in people with some carpentry and/or masonry skills.
We will be getting the center set up so that the church can offer important social services for the low-income community surrounding it including AIDS testing and counseling, a food and clothes pantry, and community outreach.
Have you heard this one?
How many teen groups does it take to repair a church’s community center?
Three!
The punch line isn’t funny, but it sure is touching.
On three separate Sundays, three separate teen groups from all over the DC area worked hard to repair the community center at the Rising Sun Baptist Church in Northeast DC. They scraped, painted, demolished and repaired the parish house that the church plans on using for social services for the low-income community surrounding it.
Not only did the volunteers do the hands-on work, their organizations funded the work as well through Yachad’s Mitzvah Party.
Read what one of the group organizers wrote about the experience:
I wanted to report on the wonderful day that I had with the Temple Micah Youth Group at Rising Sun Baptist Church. We started the day at 10AM when we were invited to sit in on the first few minutes of the church’s Sunday service. That was a wonderful experience! Although the worship community is a small one, the music and the warmth were large. After a rousing musical number and a choir song, the pastor spoke about the principles on which RSBC were founded and the church’s intentions for the renovated house. The congregants gave all the volunteers a round of applause, and many came over after services to personally thank us. Because of the pastor’s kindness and appreciativeness I left the service feeling that I would like to return on another Sunday.
We got to work around 10:30, with about a dozen kids plus me and Danny Moss (and in the afternoon, one parent). The kids worked hard all day, and we were able to put a final coat of (lovely butter-yellow) paint on all the main level rooms; paint most of the trim white; thoroughly clean and then paint the kitchen and downstairs bathroom; and clean and paint the upstairs closets. The kids also removed misc. hardware from throughout the house and most of the carpet pad staples upstairs.
A special thanks to all the groups involved and their fearless leaders:
The Wakefield School (Judy Lawrence and Nina Weissberg)
Temple Micah (Danny Moss and Ilan Scharfstein)
Congregation Beth El (Adam Zeren and Rabbi Harris)
As you may remember from posts past, Mark Perlman, a Yachad supporter, raised money to repair the home of a NE homeowner. This past Sunday, he and about 20 of his friends and coworkers painted, cleaned, and tore up carpeting from the home. The volunteers worked very hard and made a huge difference in the house for the homeowner, her son and goddaughter.
If you are interested in hosting an alternative party with your friends, host a Mitzvah Party like Mark did. Find out more here.
Photos from the day:
It was the last official day of summer yesterday and about 20 people decided to spend it in the most generous way they could think of…volunteering with Yachad. Yachad organized the volunteers for our We the People project where individuals can sign-up to volunteer with others on federal holidays to repair and restore affordable housing and community centers. This Labor Day, the volunteers helped to put crucial finishing touches on five units at the 2nd Street Apartments in NE. Yachad has been working diligently to repair 12 of the 42 units in this affordable housing complex. Thanks to these hardworking volunteers, and so many of the volunteers who have worked before them, four of the units are officially ready to be rented out. This will bring in more income to the building as a whole and also house many four low-income families or individuals looking for a safe, secure and affordable place to live in DC. Want to join in on the fun? Next federal holiday is Columbus Day. Sign up here!
Rachel pulls a “Risky Business” move as she polys the floors.
Mindy mops at high speed.
Sophie and Erika lay down the floors.
  
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