Congregation Or Chadash Committees

End of Year Report for the

Annual Meeting (Sunday, May 6, 2007)

Adult Education (Beverly Sandock)

The Adult Education Committee offered sacred and secular programming during the 2006-07 year consistent with our goals. Our committee attempts to provide opportunities for lifelong Jewish learning, to increase our congregants’ knowledge and practice of Judaism, and to provide casual and formalized learning opportunities.

Highlights

· Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings dedicated for Adult Education

· Classes held on Congregation Or Chadash Campus

· Scholar in Residence Weekend co-programmed with Congregation Chaverim

· Three Rabbis served as instructors

· Over 50 different individuals enrolled in classes or activities

· Fiscal self-sufficiency achieved due to fees charged for classes

· Interest Survey undertaken in The New Light and www.orchadash-tucson.org website

Emphasis Areas for Planning

1) Development of a strategic plan for congregational lifelong learning

2) Identification of a step-wise curriculum

3) Exploration of partnering with the community on programming

4) Exploration of grants

5) Creation and prioritization of lifelong learning as part of the Or Chadash culture

6) Identification of barriers to involvement in lifelong learning.

Brotherhood (Jay Schwartz)

• Purchased two Power Heart automatic external defibrillators. Held a number of educational meetings. Planning annual Chad Ash baseball trip.

Building Committee (Andy Briefer)

• Finishing Phase One.

Cemetery (David Weintraub)

Sales for the twelve-months were $15, 275 this year and $10,855 last year. We are down to 9 plots from the first purchase from Evergreen. The committee this year has contributed $10, 000 to the general fund.

We will be meeting with Evergreen Cemetery to purchase the second group of plots for the congregation in the near future. The price of the new burial rights is expected to increase as we haven’t had a change since July of 2004 when we first offered burial rights in our own section of Evergreen.

Education (Jayme Olitzky)

Created a wonderful transition from THA to Alvernon

Executive Director (Steve Sattinger)

Interviewed a number of candidates. No job offer to date

Fundraising (Melissa Hall)

• Channukah Event – more of a friendraising than fundraising
• Matzah Ball – Bobby Paley and Rabbi worked on this and brought in about $4000
• Cantor’s Concert – Amy Kleinman and Kathy Karson and working on this event for April 29^th with Cantor.
• Cheesecake Competition – Meme Aguila is heading this event on May 20^th.
• Congregational Directory – Diane Kerrihard is heading this and hope to have all monies collected by June 30 with a publication in the fall.

Plans for 2007-2008

2^nd Annual Cheesecake – depending on turn out

A Fund Raising Dinner with Silent Auction

Cantor’s Concert

Directory Update

Membership (Gail Kushner)

• 53 new members this fiscal year

Personnel Committee (Pam Treadwell-Rubin)

• Drafting Evaluation tools for the staff

Security (Jeff Jacobson)

• Worked diligently with members of the sheriff’s, fire, and police departments, and security consultants to provide a safe environment for our members and their children while they are attending religious school, meetings, and educational and social opportunities on our property. Safety manuals have been studied and drills.

Sisterhood

The members of Or Chadash’s Sisterhood worked diligently to achieve our mission—

To foster fellowship among the women of the congregation by perpetuating the ideals of Reform Judaism both within the congregation and in the community—

We did this by creating and participating in the following activities:

· Held an annual retreat in June 2006

• Organized a Congregation Shabbat Potluck in July 2006
• Shared a Sisterhood Potluck, to begin our year, in August 2006
• Greeted and welcomed members and guests at our annual Open House
• In August 2006
• Volunteered as ushers for High Holy Day Services
• Coordinated the Break Fast at the end of Yom Kippur
• Coordinated the Latke Oneg for the 100 Menorah Chanukah Service
• Held a 2^nd annual Sisterhood Shabbat in February 2007
• Donated time and food to Operation Deep Freeze, which provides meals for the homeless housed at various congregations in Tucson during the cold winter evenings.
• Throughout the year we collected school supplies, clothing and snacks for Los Ranchitos elementary school
• In April 2007 a new Sisterhood Board was elected.
• In this fiscal year, Or Chadash’s Sisterhood donated $1500 to Or Chadash’s Religious School.

Our annual retreat will be held in June 2007. As always, we will determine next year’s goals and activities.

Social Action (Andi Elkins)

The congregants of Or Chadash have been very active in the past year assisting those in need in our community. The many Social Action projects our members participate in have enabled them to demonstrate their responsibilities as Jews. Doing Tikun Olam has benefited not only those who do the good deeds, but the greater community as well. Our congregation’s social action efforts are limited only by the time, money and volunteer commitment of our members. We do much to help, but can always do more.

Every year our members participate in Project Isaiah. This year our congregation donated over 2000 pounds of food and $100 for the Community Food Bank between Rosh Hashanah and Sukkoth. In addition, food and money donations have been given by our membership to assist Jewish families who were unable to afford specialized food for their own Passover Seder. As a congregation, we are also involved in giving weekly food donations to the Interfaith Community Food Bank and the Tucson Community Food Bank, and those collections were greater than 900 pounds.

Our members continued to assist in helping several “Katrina” families settle in to homes or apartments by donating household items, clothing, and furniture.

This year, our congregants participated in feeding and sheltering 126 homeless men on six nights during December, January and February for Operation Deepfreeze/ Project Hospitality. We collected funds to also provide each of the men new socks and t-shirts, and personal hygiene products.

Our members assist in literacy training in the community, with some of our congregants working with The Reading Seed at various schools, and some at the Juvenile Court.

For the fifth consecutive year, several of our members have participated in helping the community by participating in a “Make A Difference Day” event. We have committed to continuing this activity for the next year.

For the second year, we have made lunches every month for the working homeless men living at the Primavera shelters. Our members provide full lunches, and assist in making the sandwiches, and providing chips, fruit, dessert and drinks for these men. We have donated personal and household items to the women (and their children, if any) at the New Beginnings Shelter for Women and Children.

For the first time, we have committed to Congregation Ner Tamid to donate $100 for the Kos Miryam Project, as we were “blessed by Hashem by leading Miryam to water when we fled from Mitzrayim into the wilderness. The Kos Miryam Project calls for a blue flag to demarcate water tanks in the desert as a humanitarian gesture for the men, women and children crossing the desert.

We show our children our commitment to helping others, and they, in turn, begin to reach out as well. Our B’nai Mitzvot students are individually involved in personal projects of their own, sometimes assisting in the social action programming listed above. We applaud all members, young and young at heart, who help in any way, and we welcome anyone who wants to be part of our giving community.

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