Tikkun Olam (Repair the World)/Social Action Committee addresses issues and problems as they relate to the principles of Judaism. Projects include food, toiletry and inkjet recycling drives; Cell Phones for Soldiers; voter registration and transportation; blood, tissue and organ donor drives and fundraising for various environmental and social causes. The committee participates in the larger Erie community through annual events such as the Interfaith Thanksgiving Services, Martin Luther King Shabbat, Black/Women's History Month, Earth Day Shabbat, Mitzvah Maker recognition of Temple members and other special events.
In conjunction with the donations provided by Irmgaard Baum, the Congregation has supported the efforts of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies in encouraging environmental cooperation between peoples and working towards peace and sustainable development on a regional and global scale.
In fact our relationship with the Institute has lead to our biggest Mitzvah Project to date: to become the first carbon-neutral Congregation in the US. In order to do this, we have conducted an energy audit of the building and established the size of our carbon footprint. We then made many energy saving changes within the Temple.
Because of the age of the building, we knew these changes alone would be insufficient. Therefore, we have joined again with the Arava Institute to purchase solar panels for them. Our goal is to assist the Arava Institute in generating its own power and providing it the ability to sell power to others as well to assist it in becoming more financially self-supporting.
The total cost of the project is $6,000. To date, we have collected almost $2,000. We hope to complete this fundraising project by the end of this coming fiscal year (July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010).
To make a donation to this project, make your check out to "Temple Anshe Hesed" with "Arava Solar Panel Project" in the memo or call the Temple at (814) 454-2426.
