Federation is Here
February 19, 2021
If you are reading this, it means that you either have power or have enough charge to communicate with the outside world, and that’s a great sign! Please share the resources in this message with your family and friends.
If you or your family are still without any basic necessity, please make sure to reach out to any of the Jewish agency resources below so we can help support you.
For everyone else, please send our Texas communities your positive energy and support. The idea that a global pandemic is actually not the most dangerous or critical concern right now says it all.
To our local friends and neighbors please know that the San Antonio Jewish community has the following resources immediately available:
- Jewish Family Service is ready to take your call. JFS has also prepared a list of resources, tips to conserve power, and other local contacts for support (click here to read).
- The Hebrew Free Loan Association of San Antonio has multiple crisis funds available for anyone needing immediate financial assistance.
- The rabbis at congregations Rodfei Sholom, Temple Beth El, Chabad, and Agudas Achim are all available for religious counsel and discreet emergency support. We encourage our unaffiliated community members to also feel free to reach out to any of our community rabbis during this time of crisis.
We are so grateful for you. Through your generous donations to our Community Crisis Campaign, Federation is incredibly proud to fully or partially fund all of the above listed community resources (plus many more). Although Federation has allocated $430,000 in crisis funds since last year, the fact is that it is still not enough.
When we hear from JFS that their clients are expressing more suicidal ideation, depression, and anxiety, or that local congregants are struggling to pay their electric bills, or community members can’t afford to call a plumber to repair their leaking frozen pipes, or that many have lost wages this week or lost food and staples due to power outages, the Jewish Federation has a responsibility. We reach out to those able to help during these times and ask for assistance.
In this week’s Torah portion, Terumah, whose modern translation is “charitable gift”, we read of Gd asking the Hebrews to make an offering “from every person whose heart inspires” him or her (Ex. 25:1).
This week, we are asking that if you are in need of a gift, please let us know. Or, if you have the capacity to give a gift, we ask that you please consider donating any amount and direct it to the Community Crisis Campaign. The funds raised through this campaign will only go to support humanitarian needs for our local vulnerable populations.
Thank you in advance for considering the request, and may everyone have a warm, safe, and restful Shabbat shalom.
