Social Justice Committee
Please let us know if you are interested in helping organize and plan social justice-related congregational projects and learning opportunities. The committee meets a few times during the year to help fulfill the congregation’s social justice mission statement, shown above.

Social Justice E-mail Alerts
Sukkat Shalom maintains an email list for those congregants interested in receiving occasional emails about social justice issues and volunteer opportunities at the local, state, national and international scale. Please let us know your email address if you would like to be included on these important and informative emails.

Luggage for Freedom 

Luggage For Freedom provides gently used luggage packed with essentials (towels, sheets, and new toiletries) as well as new or gently used handbags to women leaving local domestic violence shelters in search of a fresh start in life.  It also provides backpacks filled with books, school supplies and stuffed animals for the women’s children.  Our congregation will be collecting goods prior to the start of Family School (at the Community Recreation Center, 3000 Glenview Road, Wilmette) on Sunday, October 4, 2009.   

Hannukah Collection: Bringing Gifts of Warmth
In an effort to spread the warm spirit surrounding Hannukah, Sukkat Shalom will give some physical warmth by collecting blankets for The Night Ministry to pass out to Chicago’s street population.

Share the Harvest
Hunger is one of the most widespread problems currently facing our society. Thirty-three million people (of which 12 million are children) do not have enough food to maintain a healthy lifestyle. STH is a way for members to participate in a Thanksgiving community service project to address one aspect of this issue, helping others have something to be grateful for during a time of gathering. Working with local agencies to identify hungry families, we will provide food for Thanksgiving meals that will be delivered to those in need.

Habitat for Humanity
Congregation Sukkat Shalom will be joining with the three synagogues and five churches of the Glencoe Interfaith Builders (GIB) that have sponsored and built 4 Habitat for Humanity houses over the past 7 years in Waukegan and North Chicago. We need volunteers to help with fundraising and building for the next GIB-sponsored Habitat house. Construction volunteers must be 16 or older. No experience is necessary – just your desire to contribute a day of your time.

Howard Area Community Center
Through focus groups, we have identified LITERACY and EDUCATION as Social Justice themes we would like to respond to as a congregation family. The Howard Area Community Center (HACC), located at 7648 North Paulina Street, provides a range of literacy and educational services to families in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, including a Family Literacy Program, a Family Center, and Youth Program. We would like to provide volunteers to cover one weekday afternoon (3 - 5 PM) per week for the school year. If you are interested in volunteering at HACC with others at Sukkat Shalom, please let us know what day(s) of the week you would be available and how often you would be able to volunteer (e.g., once per month, twice per month, weekly, etc.).