by Bruce Pollock, Social Action Coordinating Committee Co-Chair
Three years ago, I became a member of TBK after moving to Rochester from Connecticut. As the chairperson of the Social Action Committee in my synagogue in Connecticut, I was looking to join a synagogue here that had a commitment to social action and active social action programs. After attending a few TBK services, I was thrilled with the TBK commitment to Tikkun Olam and so I became a member.
After joining the Social Action Coordinating Committee (SACC), I was immediately impressed with the vitality of the committee under Tom Fink's leadership. I heard stories about how TBK had been devoted to social action activities for years and years. I was happy to find a place where I could exercise an important part of my Judaism, helping to "repair the world."
I became the volunteer coordinator for the TBK School 52 Partnership and worked very hard to assign volunteers and keep them well informed about their schedule and upcoming events. Here was a program where we could try to improve young lives so they could be successful in school and go on to get good jobs and be successful in life. TBK also had long-standing support of other social action programs through Tempro, Blessed Sacrament, the Jefferson Avenue Day Care Center, and Sojourner House that helped the poor and needy. TBK was surely fulfilling its tri-fold Reform Jewish mission to support Worship, Education, and Tikkun Olam. I was so happy to be a member of this synagogue.
Two years after I joined the SACC, Tom Fink stepped down as chairperson and he asked Gail Pogal and me to become co-chairs. I was honored and became committed to trying to continue the social action momentum that Tom had created. This past year, the Social Action Coordinating Committee supported the following programs and volunteers worked at several others:
- Mitzvah Day (16 agencies in addition to TBK)
- Tempro transitional housing program (a past URJ Fain Award-winning program)
- School 52 tutoring program (2007 URJ Fain Award)
- Social Action Shabbat with Rabbi Marla Feldman
- Blessed Sacrament Supper Program
- Habitat for Humanity interfaith partnership program
- Jefferson Ave. Day Care Center (a past URJ Fain award-winning program)
- Noa Baum presentation of "A Land Twice Promised" (2007 Faith in Action Award)
- Iraq War panel discussion
- TBK Movie Night showing Al Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth"
- Just Congregations Exploratory Committee
- TBK Disaster Response Committee
We also forged dialogues with the Jewish Federation and Temple Sinai to explore what we could do together to improve the Rochester community. We received the URJ Fain Social Action Award for our School 52 partnership program and the Greater Rochester Community of Churches Faith in Action award for the Noa Baum weekend events.
But our job is not done. In my view, it is essential that the Social Action Coordinating Committee be an extension of our TBK community and support activities and programs that congregants want to support. Thus, I am looking for your feedback, whether positive or negative, on how we can improve the SACC.
Please call or e-mail me (586-6862 or bpollock53@rochester.rr.com), or better yet let's meet face-to face. I look forward to hearing your ideas so the SACC can fulfill its mission to support congregants' desires to pursue actions that repair our world.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Bruce
