SOCIAL AND SERVICES

Current Social/Services Programs
 
 
 

Sisterhood
 

Plans and carries out social activities including: Progressive Dinner, New Member Shabbat, paid-up members brunch, social/fund-raising events such as the Purim party/silent auction (sometimes in conjunction with other arms of the Temple, such as the Men's Club). The number of social events have diminished over the last few years because of poor participation. Sisterhood has raised an average of $10,000 annually for the Temple over the past few years, of which $4,000 is contributed to the Temple operating funds and the remainder provides funding for specific programs (e.g., food for the religious school).
 

Men's Club
 

Plans and carries out social activities including: Paid-up members' dinner, Sunday brunches featuring politicians, financial planners and others, programs for fathers and children (magician, trip to New Haven for hockey game). Sometimes the Men's Club conducts programs with other Temple arms. Here too, the number of social events have diminished. Men's Club's contribution to the Temple coffers have averaged $6,000 annually, and additional funding for special programs or Temple needs has been furnished on a regular basis (e.g., for youth activities, building improvements).
 

Beth El Cares
 

This is Beth El's coordinated outreach service effort. Ongoing service projects include food collections for the hungry, clothing drives for the needy, and various projects aiding homeless shelters. It also addresses such major issues as Israel and world Jewry, the environment, outreach for the elderly. Through its Mitzvah project it involved the entire congregation including the Religious School , Bi-Cultural students and their families.
 

Project Ezra
 

This is the Temple's inreach program to assist Temple members and make them feel they are part of a community. Project Ezra welcomes new members with candlesticks and wine and furnishes a meal to grieving families. The program was started with seed money from Sisterhood and Men's Club but this year it existed on contributions alone. There is some money allocated to the project in next year's Temple budget.
 

Youth Commission
 

Largely inactive the last few years, but in the past it had been responsible for hiring a Youth Director, and directing such programs as Kadimah and USY (or in-house programs for the same age groups). This year (1996-1997), a small youth committee has become active and is working with a newly appointed Youth Director, who reports to the Education Director.
 

Need For Change
 

All the listed organizations have a need for greater participation, whether in the leadership or in the sponsored activities.
 

The 1994 Temple survey indicated that more than 40 percent of those responding favored the following activities but in most cases the level of indicated participation was 20 percent less:
 

ACTIVITY FAVOR PARTICIPATE
Partnering with other Jewish groups for Jewish issues 72% 37%
Driving elderly or others to Temple 59 % 29%
Partnering with other Jewish groups for social events 58 % 30%
Partnering with churches and others to help community 56 % 33%
Programs for retired people 55 % 12%
Partnering with church groups to help community 49% 21%
Regularly scheduled adult singles activities 43% 5%
Social action programs for members in need 43% 21%

The survey also indicated that only a quarter of the respondents favored strengthening Sisterhood and Men's Club or blending those two organizations into one. Also, a similar fraction would like to see social events such as dances and parties. About 10 percent fewer said they would participate in each of these activities.
 

Project Ezra seems to have hit a responsive chord with the Congregation. The need for change here is an expansion of its inreach programs and a method of ensuring that funds are available for such projects.
 

Beth El Cares has also been successful in most of its programs. The number of programs has resulted in a leadership deficit, with too few people being involved in too many programs. The survey indicated a high percentage of congregants favoring such societal issues as Jewish attitudes about minorities (61%), partnering with churches and others to help community (56%), and sermons that synthesize contemporary issues with text and Torah (50%) or are on contemporary issues(48%). However, less than a third of the respondents are willing to participate in such participatory programs.
 

The Youth Commission needs restructuring. The thrust of the 1994 Temple survey towards teen activities (and noting that JCC and Merkaz Torah offer activities and programs for teens) was that the Temple should also offer programs, trips and social activities. The needs of the Hebrew day school students and graduates must also be taken into consideration in any youth programming. However, most respondents do not believe the Temple should take a leading role in teen activities. It is important to realize that 58 percent of the respondents have no children and that 35 percent have children in the age group of 10-17 years.
 

Impact Of The Planning Assumptions on Social/Services
 

Participation in Jewish community activism will increase slightly. This should be a positive for the organizations discussed here. On the other hand, population size in Stamford is to remain constant until 2000 and then decline somewhat; a poor sign.
 

If the Congregation membership increases only moderately, we must depend upon better planning to get more participation, rather than on an increase in numbers.
 

Recommendations - Social/Services
 

A merger of Sisterhood and Men's Club should be considered in the long term. In the shorter term, a procedure that fosters closer coordination should be implemented. This should include joint meetings of their governing boards, perhaps on a quarterly basis. Each organization will continue to host separate events (e.g., Sisterhood Paid-Up Brunch and Men's Club Paid-up Dinner) while coordinating such joint efforts as social events (e.g., Purim Comedy Night) and special programs (e.g., Political Candidates Brunch). Both organizations should commit to more joint programming and a much higher degree of coordination of programs.
 

Coordination of social activities must encompass all sources of such programs. In addition to the Men's Club and Sisterhood, committees and groups for singles, young couples, seniors, and others will need to be part of the combined social programming efforts. The new Temple organization structure must have a single point of coordinating social programming.
 

Combined purposes of events such as social/cultural, social/religious, social/religious school should be encouraged.
 

More ideas obtained from other synagogues, churches, and other organizations should be tried. For example, if a couple brings a "new" couple to a progressive dinner, the second couple gets a chance to win a prize. Perhaps organizations could split more activities so some are targeted for older members, younger members, singles, families, and others.
 

Beth El Cares should try some new projects such as renovating a house (e.g., through Adopt-a-House). The Beth El Cares Board should assist other Temple groups in developing outreach programs that those groups wish to implement. The 1994 Temple survey certainly doesn't bode well for Beth El to consider itself an activist congregation as a whole. If, in fact, most of the social activists are already active, new members must be found. As in every case, funding is an issue. If the majority of the Congregation feels this should be an activist Congregation, then the budget should reflect this. At least some of the operating funds for Beth El Cares should come from the budget, with a segregated fund being available for contributions.
 

The ties of Temple Beth El to the State of Israel should be strengthened. Programs to raise the congregation's level of awareness of and participation in contemporary Israeli issues could include:

From the survey response and the forum comments, there is a desire for youth activities within the Temple. The need for a parent group is critical, not only to assist in programming but to provide incentive for children to participate. The positioning of this group within the overall Temple organizational and governance structure should be linked to the Education Director and Board of Education.
 

There must be a reasonable budget and staffing for youth programs.
 

Project Ezra should be expanded as the Temple's inreach program. Adequate funding should be assured for its critical programs.