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Refugee Response
Afghan Refugee Response
(updated 11/3/21)
Afghan Refugee Apartment move-in day – November 7
Agudas Achim – You Rock! You have donated enough goods to fully furnish an apartment. Let's move our family in!
Thanks to your generosity, we are prepared to move in an Afghan refugee family this Sunday, November 7. We have started bringing donated household items and groceries to the apartment, and we have received enough donated furniture to furnish the entire apartment! Thank you to everyone who has donated. By now, donors should have received a message from Gabriela Tannenbaum about how we can use your donation.
If you are interested in volunteering your time--either to collect items or to help with move-in day--please sign up here by the end of day on Thursday, November 4. We especially need a volunteer who is able and available to drive a truck on the highway on Sunday, November 7.
Many of you have generously donated to the Rabbi's Discretionary Fund totaling more than $7,000 which will be used to buy items that were not donated and to pay for other necessary costs, such as groceries for the family or storage for donations. Remaining funds will be used to support this or future families. We also have collected close to $1,500 in gift cards which were donated already to refugees through NOVA RAFT, the area-wide organization coordinating these efforts on behalf of Lutheran Social Services. Thank you all so much!
If you are interested in donating furniture or household items, but didn't get a chance to sign up yet, stay tuned! We plan to support another family soon, and will be re-posting the sign up sheet next week to begin collecting new items. We are also still accepting financial donations to the Rabbi's Discretionary Fund (note that it is for Afghan refugee resettlement) and gift cards.
The first family we are supporting has two children: a 5-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy. We are furnishing a two bedroom apartment for them right here in Alexandria just across the street from the Aldi off the 395 Seminary Road exit. Our goal is to provide them with additional assistance as time goes on to make sure they not only have a head start in our community, but also that they are empowered to feel at home as our neighbor.
Thank you all for participating in this community-wide effort of Hachnasat Orachim (welcoming the stranger).
Mon, December 6 2021
2 Tevet 5782
Community Meeting
Monday, December 6 | 8 PM
All invited to get an update from the Refugee Assistance Steering Committee. Learn about all that our community has accomplished and next steps.
This virtual meeting can be accessed on Zoom.
Support Refugee Families
List of needed household items.
Requested Furniture.
Refugee Response Update, October 18, 2021
A letter to the Agudas Achim Community, Sept. 1, 2021
An update to the Agudas Achim Community, Oct. 18, 2021
Gift Card Collection
Lutheran Social Services has an immediate need for gift cards from Visa, Target, Walmart, Giant, Uber, and Lyft. To assist refugees new to the area, gift cards in any amount may be dropped off in the synagogue office or at the homes of Barbara Elkin (south of Old Town Alexandria), Mindi Maline (Fairfax), and Samara Weinstein (Arlington). The cards will be delivered to Lutheran Social Services and put to use immediately to help refugees purchase food, necessities, and transportation. Questions? Contact Barbara Elkin.
Refugee Response
Read this letter from the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington.
Letter to the Agudas Community
September 1, 2021
“In a place where there are no upstanders, strive to be an upstander.”
-Ethics of our Sages 2:5
“We have a moral obligation to help those who helped us.”
-Lloyd Austin, Secretary of Defense
AAC Family,
We are all shocked by the images we see coming out of Afghanistan where our military has bravely risked their lives to evacuate as many American citizens and Afghans as possible. Many of you have reached out to the Board and the Social Action Committee to ask how you can help.
As this dynamic situation unfolds and we obtain a clearer picture of what options will be available in our community, AAC is determined to take meaningful action to support those who have supported our country over the last 20 years of conflict in Afghanistan. To that end, the Social Action Committee has created a steering committee, chaired by Ben Kraut and Gabriela Tannenbaum, to organize and streamline our congregational effort.
In the coming days, we will be updating the congregation on short- and longer term initiatives to support the incoming refugees from Afghanistan. This may include furnishing an apartment and possibly providing longer-term assistance to a specific family or families.
In the meantime, a number of organizations are responding to the immediate needs of refugees arriving each day. Please consider supporting one or more initiatives, which will be noted on our new webpage. Keep an eye on this webpage which will be updated soon: www.agudasachim-va.org/refugee.html
Sincerely,
Ben Kraut
