Our Kids Collect Tzedakah
The understanding and practice of ethical behavior is a basic part of our Religious School curriculum. The collection of Tzedakah and being involved with tzedakah projects is just one of many ways our students experience Tikkun Olam.
Each class collects tzedakah monies on an ongoing basis with both students and teachers working together to decide on distributions to a variety of organizations. We are working towards having ongoing Tikkun Olam projects in place for each of our grade levels.
In addition, we have also initiated a new school/temple wide values program named Menschlekeit Matters, which will incorporate ideas from the national Character Counts Program! and places them in a uniquely Jewish perspective.
ECC Tzedakah helps KI Family
The ECC’s Tzedakah program is helping one of our own by donating 1/2 of the children’s tzedakah money from the classrooms to the EBMRF, a non-profit Foundation run by KI members Paul & Andrea Joseph to raise funds and awareness for Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) which their 4 year old son, Brandon was born with. Brandon, a student in the Purple Room, suffers from this rare, and life threatening genetic disorder which causes the skin to tear and blister at a slight touch and requires daily bandaging of the wounds. There is currently no cure for EB. The Foundation is an all volunteer organization, no salaries are paid. To make a donation or learn more about the disease go to www.ebkids.org
ECC Tzedakah helps Lia in Israel
The other 1/2 of the children's tzedakah money from the classrooms is going to a little girl named Lia who lives in
Israel. Lia has Rett Syndrome, a debilitating condition by which the child develops normally for her first year or two and then begins to deteriorate, particularly in her speech and motor functioning.
Lia goes to a special school called Beit Issie Shapiro. They have, over the years, developed particular expertise in the care and education of girls with Rett syndrome and they have found that intensive and prolonged treatment can minimize the deterioration and maintain some function.
The money that the children are bringing for Tzedakah will be used to help Lia with her treatments. We now have a photo of Lia in each classroom. We also will be sending art work from our children to Lia, along with pictures from each of the classes, so that Lia can get to know her new friends at KI ECC.
Visit the Tikkun Olam: School Tzedakah archive