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Serving Warmth — One Bowl, One Coat, and One Smile at a Time
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s the days get shorter and temperatures fall, the comfort and warmth of our homes is a welcome refuge from the cold. Unfortunately, the men, women, and children who call shelters, cars, and streets “home” aren’t so lucky. Friendship Place is a non-profit organization that offers an effective model for addressing homelessness, and they are working hard to change that. Through innovative programs, they empower individuals to rebuild their lives, find homes, get jobs, and reconnect with friends, family, and the community — permanently. Every fall, Friendship Place coordinates an area-wide clothing drive and opens a one-day-only “pop-up shop” at one of their partner congregations where homeless men and women can select warm winter clothing and enjoy a hot meal. We are honored and excited to serve as the host congregation for this year’s Winter Warmth Store on Sunday, December 4. It is a big responsibility, and our 11th and 12th grade Post Confirmation students have eagerly stepped up to lead the charge. The students wanted a project they could take a deep dive into, and the clothing drive and Winter Warmth Store have filled that niche perfectly. Beginning in September with a program that introduced them to Friendship Place staff and WHC Board member and TOV Fund representative Lynn Sachs, the Post Confirmands have spent the semester focused on ways to make the experience about more than a meal and some clothes for the approximately 150 Friendship Place clients who will come to Temple.
From coordinating clothing drives at their schools to arranging for one of their school choirs to provide entertainment, the students’ ideas, plans, and follow through have infused a new kind of energy into this already-successful program. Prior to the December 4 event, the Post Confirmands — joined by congregant volunteers — will spend several days sorting all of the winter clothing that has been donated by Friendship Place’s many partner congregations and companies. Before Winter Warmth, our students will work side-by-side with Friendship Place to merchandise the clothing, creating a store-like environment where the clients can “shop.” On the fourth, the teens will help run the “restaurant” and “store.” They want the Friendship Place clients to come into WHC and feel like they are part of a community. They will be greeted, served, offered companionship, and treated with dignity. In addition to providing a respite from the cold, the goal is to create an experience for the clients that is as rich and rewarding as something we would offer our own members. Friendship Place is supported by more than 25 partner congregations, and Washington Hebrew Congregation is a proud founding partner. Our hope is that, for as long as it is needed, the Winter Warmth Store will “pop up” at WHC for years to come. For more information about Friendship Place or the Winter Warmth effort, visit our website, whctemple.org/WinterWarmth or contact Lynn Sachs, lynn.sachs@verizon.net. WHC Journal – December 2016 | Page 9