Blog

On Yom Kippur, Rabbi Jamie challenged us to reach out in various forms of service and engage with the community at-large, both locally and globally. In the last Shofar, we gave a number of suggestions. Here are some new ones for the next two months.

1. Volunteer locally:
   • EChO’s food pantry is seeking volunteers to help with stocking shelves, assisting shoppers and repackaging bulk items into smaller containers. It also needs drivers to pick up food at local stores, the farmers market and Food Bank of the Rockies. For more info, email mary@evergreenchristianoutreach.org.
   • Evergreen Animal Protective League (EAPL) has many opportunities for volunteers. EAPL needs foster homes, cat room volunteers to provide food, cleanliness and affection for the cats, Thrift Shop help, phone volunteers, help with pet adoption events, short story writers to submit stories for local publications, computer help, and more. Look over some of the volunteer roles or contact EAPL at 303/674-6442.
2. Volunteer in Denver:
   • Jewish Family Service’s Weinberg Food Pantry is seeking volunteers to help with food distribution, shelving and bagging. Volunteer on Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Fridays, 9:30 am-1 pm, or the second Thursday of each month, 3:45-6 pm. Or become a volunteer driver, delivering food and supplies to homebound clients once a month. Apply here.
   • The Immigration Justice Campaign, partnering with RMIAN, is looking for volunteer attorneys, mental health professionals, interpreters, and others to help defend detained immigrants at the Denver Contract Detention Facility. Although the facility is only 30 minutes outside of downtown Denver, roughly 89% of noncitizens detained there are unrepresented in their immigration case. Some of the volunteer opportunities include providing Know your Rights presentations, pro se workshops, individual screenings, and direct legal services. Learn more.
3. Make a profound difference in the lives of Israelis and send a donation to American Friends of Magen David Adom (AFMDA). Magen David Adom is Israel’s national ambulance, blood-services, and disaster-relief organization, serving as emergency medical first responders for Israel’s more than 9 million people.
4. Birthday or anniversary coming up? Create a personal Team Sierra page and raise money for our planet. The funds you raise will help the Sierra Club protect our nation’s water, land and air, transition cities to 100% clean energy, and more. Example: Ask 50 friends to donate $50 each for your 50th birthday. Create your own page at https://www.teamsierra.org/MyCelebration.
5. Last time, we sent pizzas to Israeli soldiers in the field. This month, how about burgers? Support Israeli soldiers by sending burgers and soda to active duty soldiers out in the field: on jeep and foot patrols, at roadblocks, army bases, and on guard duty. Learn more at http://burgeridf.org/.
6. Fight climate change by reading “101 Ways to Fight Climate Change” at  and implementing at least a few of those ideas.