By Win Loria
The Torah frequently asks us to welcome the stranger: this summer, Or Ami welcomed Rabbinic intern Jules Ilian with a series of social action activities around this theme.
We held a specialty foods drive to augment offerings at Sacred Heart Center which serves the Latino population in south Richmond. Although spaghetti and peanut butter are always welcome, dearer are the foods they ate back home: beans, maseca (corn flour), dried peppers, sweetened condensed milk, and Jamaica/ hibiscus leaves to make tea. Small comforts are welcome and make new surroundings feel less daunting.
ReEstablish Richmond works with refugees after their initial six-month resettlement period. As the demand for English instruction is huge, Or Ami helped to secure and organize teaching materials like Oxford picture dictionaries, notebooks, whiteboards and markers to help tutors work with beginner, low-literacy students.
Mixteca in New York is an organization overwhelmed with asylum seekers bused from border states. A new congregant with ties there has passed along their ask for help with toiletries and other necessities while Mixteca tries to secure shelter and provide essential services.
Or Ami continues our drive for $10 gift cards (from Target or Visa) and will send them with Spanish language welcome cards.
Guest speakers at Shabbat Services have shared stories of the challenges faced and the efforts made to help those escaping unbearable situations in their home countries.
Feel free to join this effort with specialty foods, gift cards, or instructional supplies. Ideas, suggestions, and questions are welcome, contact Social_Action@Or-Ami.com.
Regular Shabbat Services are held in-person and online Friday evenings from 7:30 to 8:30. Torah Study is held virtually most Saturdays, from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Contact our office for a link if you wish to attend.
For more information on any of our programs or to obtain links to Zoom events, please get in touch with our office at (804) 272-0017 or office@or-ami.com.
Would you like to know more? Contact us at Belong@Or-Ami.com or check us out at www.Or-Ami.com. You can follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/OrAmi-Richmond. All inquiries are always welcome.
