In conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Rides, Beth Israel in Jackson will have programs on that theme this month as part of its 150th anniversary celebration.
The congregation became a focal point in the 1961 Freedom Rides, as a group of blacks and whites tested a 1960 Supreme Court ruling that outlawed segregation in interstate public transportation facilities. The first ride left from Washington on May 5, 1961. The ride was uneventful until arriving in Rockville, S.C., where the riders were beaten by a mob.
Violence continued in Anniston on May 14, and the bus was firebombed a few miles outside the city. More violence followed in Birmingham and Montgomery.
A call went out for more Freedom Riders to flood the South. Of the white volunteers, it is estimated that as many as half were Jewish; some were Holocaust survivors.
A deal was struck that allowed the Freedom Riders safe passage to Jackson, where they would be arrested. Over 350 Freedom Riders received six-month “breach of peace” sentences, with many going to Parchman prison.
Rabbi Perry Nussbaum of Beth Israel visited the Freedom Riders in Parchman every week, often passing along messages to worried relatives across the country.
Beth Israel will hold a program and reception on May 22 at 1:30 p.m., “Return of the Freedom Riders: Welcoming our Role Models to the Community.”
An interfaith memorial service will be held on May 23 at 10 a.m. at Tougaloo College.
An All People’s Program will honor the Freedom Riders on May 24 at 1:30 p.m. at the Trailways Bus Station site.
On May 27, the congregation will welcome Rabbi Philip Posner, who was a Freedom Rider as a rabbinic student, and who served 39 days in Parchman. He will speak at the 6:15 p.m. Shabbat service, giving recollections of Rabbi Nussbaum. Other Freedom Riders will also be in attendance.
Additional information is available online at ms50thfreedomridersreunion.org.
The Beth Israel anniversary celebration will conclude the weekend of Sept. 15 with a Homecoming Reunion for all past congregants, rabbis, family and friends.
On Sept. 16, events will include a cemetery service, art exhibit, Shabbat dinner and services honoring past rabbis. Rabbi Dan Freelander, vice president of the Union for Reform Judaism, will be the guest speaker.
On Sept. 17, there will be Shabbat services and lunch at the Henry S. Jacobs Camp. That evening, “Beth Israel Ballyhoo” at the Museum of Art will feature a performance by Joshua Nelson, “the king of kosher Gospel,” with the Mississippi Mass Choir and the congregation’s Shirim Choir.
A 150th anniversary golf tournament will be held on Sept. 18 at Deerfield Golf Course at 9 a.m.
Members of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity at the University of Alabama are about to become experts in women’s clothing.Alabama ZBT alumnus David Aresty has arranged for a donation of a trailer filled with thousands of items of new women’s clothing from the Alfred Dunner and Sunset Rd. Spring and Summer lines. The clothing will be distributed to Alabama tornado survivors through Dressing Up! Tuscaloosa.
Aresty is a vice president with Alfred Dunner, and wife Patti is also an Alabama alumna. Ken Grodner of Birmingham had been in contact with them in New Jersey to discuss the ZBT house's capital campaign before the tornadoes hit. They had dinner together just after the storm, and Aresty said he had to be involved in the recovery.
The clothing will be available at Central High School in Tuscaloosa from June 9 to 14. Any woman who provides proper identification information from FEMA, the American Red Cross or Tuscaloosa Temporary Emergency Services will be eligible. Every tornado survivor who qualifies will be provided several Alfred Dunner outfits. Volunteer personal shoppers will help the women in making their selections.
Plans are also being made to offer complimentary haircuts and makeup tips in conjunction with the clothing distribution during the kickoff event on June 9.
If any product remains after June 14, it will be distributed in other communities throughout the state that were affected by the April tornadoes.
Alabama ZBT is providing resources and manpower for Dressing Up! Tuscaloosa, and recruiting other campus Greeks to assist.
The university’s College of Human Environmental Sciences secured the distribution location and is guiding proper staging for the event. The college offers a major in fashion retailing.
Those two groups, along with MeetUP for Change, are recruiting volunteers for the event. Setup will begin on May 31, and distribution will be from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. June 9 to 14.
Current estimates are that 2,375 homes in Tuscaloosa county were destroyed and another 2,349 had major damage.
Plans are moving forward on initiatives to help the long-term Alabama recovery from the April 27 tornadoes, with two Birmingham synagogues announcing major national initiatives.
Starting on May 16, Knesseth Israel Congregation will be partnering with two national agencies to become a center for Jewish volunteers from across the country. Rabbi Eytan Yammer said the state's only Orthodox congregation will be a home base with facilities for sleeping, cooking, eating, laundry and Internet access. Minneapolis-based Nechama will be the agency finding work for volunteers, scheduling and training volunteers, while the Jewish Disaster Response Corps will facilitate activities in KI's building, including cooking and kashrut supervision for the volunteers.
"We are so blessed to be working with such dedicated people from each of our partner organizations. I know that together we can make a difference!" Yammer said.
Amy Citryn with Nechama is already coordinating field volunteers to help clear and rebuild homes. She can be reached at recovery@kicong.org or at (205) 259-6986. Elie Lowenfeld with JDRC will be coordinating "at home" volunteers including cooking and serving meals. His email is athome@kicong.org.
According to Nechama, the two national organizations have committed to an initial four-month period, deploying up to three teams across the region. The agency is working to raise $100,000 to support the deployment, and envisions most volunteers arriving on Sunday and leaving on Friday afternoon.
Nechama is also working in Smithville, Miss., which was hit by an F5 tornado, and with Cumberland and Wren, Miss., and is working with the Vicksburg Campus Americorps NCCC team.
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Temple Emanu-El Rabbi Jonathan Miller is working with Lauren Perlman of Collat Jewish Family Services in Birmingham on Teyn Yad ("Lend a Hand"), an initiative where fellow Reform congregations can send delegations of volunteers for up to a week, with local congregants providing home hospitality. A week ago, he issued a call to the Emanu-El membership to provide space in their homes for visiting volunteers. On May 11, he announced that enough homes have been solicited to make the project a go.
The congregation is currently working to hire a coordinator for Teyn Yad, and partner with local agencies that can define meaningful volunteer opportunities for visitors that would be working for five to seven days.
Emanu-El has raised approximately $6,000 for tornado relief, which will go to the Unmet Needs Fund at United Way, and the American Red Cross.
Starting on May 16, Knesseth Israel Congregation will be partnering with two national agencies to become a center for Jewish volunteers from across the country. Rabbi Eytan Yammer said the state's only Orthodox congregation will be a home base with facilities for sleeping, cooking, eating, laundry and Internet access. Minneapolis-based Nechama will be the agency finding work for volunteers, scheduling and training volunteers, while the Jewish Disaster Response Corps will facilitate activities in KI's building, including cooking and kashrut supervision for the volunteers.
"We are so blessed to be working with such dedicated people from each of our partner organizations. I know that together we can make a difference!" Yammer said.
Amy Citryn with Nechama is already coordinating field volunteers to help clear and rebuild homes. She can be reached at recovery@kicong.org or at (205) 259-6986. Elie Lowenfeld with JDRC will be coordinating "at home" volunteers including cooking and serving meals. His email is athome@kicong.org.
According to Nechama, the two national organizations have committed to an initial four-month period, deploying up to three teams across the region. The agency is working to raise $100,000 to support the deployment, and envisions most volunteers arriving on Sunday and leaving on Friday afternoon.
Nechama is also working in Smithville, Miss., which was hit by an F5 tornado, and with Cumberland and Wren, Miss., and is working with the Vicksburg Campus Americorps NCCC team.
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Temple Emanu-El Rabbi Jonathan Miller is working with Lauren Perlman of Collat Jewish Family Services in Birmingham on Teyn Yad ("Lend a Hand"), an initiative where fellow Reform congregations can send delegations of volunteers for up to a week, with local congregants providing home hospitality. A week ago, he issued a call to the Emanu-El membership to provide space in their homes for visiting volunteers. On May 11, he announced that enough homes have been solicited to make the project a go.
The congregation is currently working to hire a coordinator for Teyn Yad, and partner with local agencies that can define meaningful volunteer opportunities for visitors that would be working for five to seven days.
Emanu-El has raised approximately $6,000 for tornado relief, which will go to the Unmet Needs Fund at United Way, and the American Red Cross.
Aly Goldfarb of Birmingham, who moved to Israel earlier this year to train at the Oren Hasharon professional track club in Israel, was invited to join Israel's national track team.
A recent graduate of Birmingham-Southern, Goldfarb was selected by the club for her overall track and field records, both at Birmingham-Southern College and at the 18th Maccabiah Games, where she competed and medaled in numerous events in 2009.
As a member of BSC's track and field team, Goldfarb won several individual titles in both the 800-meter run and the pole vault, and was named BSC Female Athlete of the Year last season. She also medaled in the 2009 World Maccabiah Games in Israel, earning gold in the 4x400-meter relay and bronze in the 400-meter run and pole vault.
When she moved to Israel, she said "Running for the state of Israel is not only an honor and privilege, but a dream come true. The country of Israel is a very important part of my life and I could not be happier to represent the country in athletics."
In her first meet with Oren Hasharon, she competed in an event she had never done before, the 1,500-meter race, and not only won, but posted a time in the top 50 all-time for women in Israel.
Last weekend, she won the 800-meter race and was immediately invited to the team.
She will participate in the European Team Championships in Reykjavik, Iceland, in June.
A recent graduate of Birmingham-Southern, Goldfarb was selected by the club for her overall track and field records, both at Birmingham-Southern College and at the 18th Maccabiah Games, where she competed and medaled in numerous events in 2009.
As a member of BSC's track and field team, Goldfarb won several individual titles in both the 800-meter run and the pole vault, and was named BSC Female Athlete of the Year last season. She also medaled in the 2009 World Maccabiah Games in Israel, earning gold in the 4x400-meter relay and bronze in the 400-meter run and pole vault.
When she moved to Israel, she said "Running for the state of Israel is not only an honor and privilege, but a dream come true. The country of Israel is a very important part of my life and I could not be happier to represent the country in athletics."
In her first meet with Oren Hasharon, she competed in an event she had never done before, the 1,500-meter race, and not only won, but posted a time in the top 50 all-time for women in Israel.
Last weekend, she won the 800-meter race and was immediately invited to the team.
She will participate in the European Team Championships in Reykjavik, Iceland, in June.
The Jewish Federation of Central Alabama, based in Montgomery, is reaching out to tornado-damaged communities in the central part of the state. Among the needs the Montgomery group has met is large plastic storage containers so those who live in tents can store their donated food and not worry about rats getting into it.
The Federation has also partnered with the Family Guidance Center of Alabama, which is making its counseling services free of charge.
Helen Rowe, mayor of Eclectic, was to join the Federation's May 12 Israel Independence Day celebration, and storm victims and cleanup volunteers from around Eclectic were invited to attend free of charge.
Also attending the event is Jim Ray, executive director of Children's Harbor, which hosts 18 camps for children with different illnesses and conditions, at its Lake Martin facility. On May 22, volunteers from the Jewish communities in Montgomery and Birmingham will move furniture back into repaired cabins, in time for the first camp of the season. Cohen's Appliances and Electronics will be providing moving trucks and hand-trucks. For more information on volunteering, contact the Federations of Montgomery or Birmingham.
The Federation has also partnered with the Family Guidance Center of Alabama, which is making its counseling services free of charge.
Helen Rowe, mayor of Eclectic, was to join the Federation's May 12 Israel Independence Day celebration, and storm victims and cleanup volunteers from around Eclectic were invited to attend free of charge.
Also attending the event is Jim Ray, executive director of Children's Harbor, which hosts 18 camps for children with different illnesses and conditions, at its Lake Martin facility. On May 22, volunteers from the Jewish communities in Montgomery and Birmingham will move furniture back into repaired cabins, in time for the first camp of the season. Cohen's Appliances and Electronics will be providing moving trucks and hand-trucks. For more information on volunteering, contact the Federations of Montgomery or Birmingham.
The Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana and the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans have each issued $1,000 grants toward the Alabama tornado relief efforts.
According to the Foundation, "As a community that knows all too well the difficult road that lies ahead for those affected by this terrible disaster, we are pleased that we can reach out and lend both our financial and heartfelt emotional support to Birmingham and the Tuscaloosa area... While we wish that we could afford to send more, we feel privileged to be able to make this donation to help others as we were helped in our time of great need."
On June 1, New Orleans City Councilman Arnie Fielkow will lead an annual youth trip to Birmingham and Tuscaloosa. The bus trip is a civil rights history tour that includes about 240 students. Because it is a day trip, there is no luggage, so Sophie B. Wright Charter School and Touro Synagogue are working to collect items that will be contributed to the relief effort.
Items include paper goods like toiler paper and paper towels, flashlights, batteries, canned food, cleaning supplies and gloves, baby bottles, diapers, trash bags and personal care items. Donations need to be dropped off at Touro Synagogue by May 27.
According to the Foundation, "As a community that knows all too well the difficult road that lies ahead for those affected by this terrible disaster, we are pleased that we can reach out and lend both our financial and heartfelt emotional support to Birmingham and the Tuscaloosa area... While we wish that we could afford to send more, we feel privileged to be able to make this donation to help others as we were helped in our time of great need."
On June 1, New Orleans City Councilman Arnie Fielkow will lead an annual youth trip to Birmingham and Tuscaloosa. The bus trip is a civil rights history tour that includes about 240 students. Because it is a day trip, there is no luggage, so Sophie B. Wright Charter School and Touro Synagogue are working to collect items that will be contributed to the relief effort.
Items include paper goods like toiler paper and paper towels, flashlights, batteries, canned food, cleaning supplies and gloves, baby bottles, diapers, trash bags and personal care items. Donations need to be dropped off at Touro Synagogue by May 27.
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| Elie Lowenfeld speaks with a volunteer at a food bank set up at the First Baptist Church in Pleasant Grove |
Elie Lowenfeld has been working disasters for five years, and even he hasn't seen anything quite like what happened last week in Alabama. "You look around and everywhere you look, everything is on the ground."
Lowenfeld arrived in Birmingham on Sunday to assess needs for the Jewish Disaster Response Corps. He is program director for the group he founded, which is headquartered at the Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life at New York University.
Lowenfeld had just graduated high school when Hurricane Katrina happened, and was embarking on a year of study in Israel, so Katrina wasn't particularly on his radar. He visited New Orleans a year and a half later, "did some work down there and have been doing it ever since."
When working the floods with Americorps in Cedar Rapids, Ia., in 2008, he noticed "all these churches coming, and I was almost jealous, my community wasn't there" in a large-scale, organized response. He went home after that experience and started organizing his friends into a group that has grown into JDRC.
The corps organizes student groups to go into areas that need long-term recovery work from natural disasters. Two others were scheduled to join him in Birmingham on Wednesday to help assess how the Jewish community nationally can be involved "in what will clearly be a long recovery."
After going through places like Pleasant Grove for several days, he said "there's a huge need. People still seem to be in shock, and it's been a week."
In January, JDRC had two week-long volunteer trips to Yazoo City, Miss., which is still recovering from last year's tornado.
Other recent efforts include Nashville, which was flooded last year, and Galveston, Tex., which was decimated by Hurricane Ike in 2009.
Lowenfeld commented that he's well past marveling at the existence of Jewish communities in far-flung places, and said he was particularly struck by the energy and sense of purpose in the offices of the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life in Jackson.
He said the Alabama recovery process "is going to be long. This is just the beginning, and it feels like we're not even at the beginning."
This morning, Rabbi Avi Weiss of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale accompanied Rabbi Eytan Yammer of Birmingham's Knesseth Israel Synagogue and several volunteers from the Birmingham Jewish community on a visit to Pleasant Grove, an area just northwest of Birmingham where one of the April 27 tornadoes cut a wide swath of destruction.
Weiss said he hadn't seen anything like the devastation. Riding through Pleasant Grove, he asked "There were houses here? Mamash (really), houses?"
Even for someone who saw the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center, this was unique. "This is so wide," he said, surveying vistas as far as the eye can see where very little was left standing.
Also on the trip was Elie Lowenfeld, program director for the Jewish Disaster Response Corps, which is headquartered at New York University. He arrived on Sunday to begin coordinating his organization's activities.
After checking in at the First Baptist Church in Pleasant Grove, which has become a nexus for area relief efforts, the caravan drove for several minutes, looking for someone who could use some help. At the church, the volunteer coordinator urged Yammer to go a distance from the church, since those closest in had likely received the bulk of volunteer assistance, while those further out had probably not seen as much assistance.
The group stopped at a lot where J.D. Smith was working to clean debris. The home belonged to his ex-wife, who took shelter in a bathtub when the tornado approached. As the house was ripped apart, the bathtub was launched beyond the trees and landed beneath debris; she survived with several cracked bones.
Smith, who lives in an area of Pratt City that was a mile from the storm's path, said one son a few blocks over also lost his house.
The group worked through the morning to separate the debris into wood, metal, brick and a few personal items. The debris is hauled away quicker if it has been sorted by category.
In addition to sorting debris, Yammer, Weiss and Rabbi Ira Flax walked the area, talking with tornado survivors.
Back at Knesseth Israel, the group stopped for a brief prayer, and Weiss said "I will forever be touched by you and by the people we just met."
Yammer, who has also worked as a paramedic -- including a stint at Ground Zero shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, is continuing to lead groups to Pleasant Grove. To sign up, go to this site.
Across central and northern Alabama, tornado relief efforts are still in high gear as damage assessments continue.
Tonight, Rabbi Avi Weiss of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale arrived in Birmingham for a program at Knesseth Israel. Rabbi Eytan Yammer has been visiting the residents in Pleasant Grove and plans to take small groups with him several times a week. Tomorrow, he and Weiss will tour the area.
Yammer said he became friends with a police officer and a pastor in the area, and will continue to come and "schlep a little, sift through rubble, but mostly to be there for people and talk to them.” He called it “a privilege and holy work” to be there with the victims.
Pleasant Grove is an area where you can find "10 square blocks where there's nothing," he said. Comparisons to a bomb going off are inaccurate, he said, because bomb blasts often leave walls, while the tornado left nothing.
A delegation from Birmingham's Temple Emanu-El brought goods to Tuscaloosa and Pratt City this morning. The congregation raised $3,000 for tornado relief with its garage sale this past weekend. Many congregants bought items that were then donated to the relief effort.
Plans are in the very early stages to coordinate Jewish groups from across the country that want to come to Alabama to help rebuild, much as groups have been visiting Louisiana ever since Hurricane Katrina.
The Birmingham Jewish Federation and Collat Jewish Family Services have been coordinating with other Birmingham agencies to respond to needs across the state. With needs so widespread, “the most important thing is to work in coordination and not duplicate services,” said Joyce Spielberger, director of community relations for the Federation.
The Federation continues to raise funds from across the country, with the national Federation system directing donors to the Birmingham Federation's website. Funds will be distributed directly to victims through the Unmet Needs Committee, a coalition of local agencies. Lauren Perlman, CJFS executive director, said that process would likely not start for several weeks, because with the massive scope of the disaster, it will take Red Cross and FEMA several weeks to process people for assistance. After individuals receive their Federal assistance, they are eligible to go before the Unmet Needs committee for help in filling in the gaps left from their other assistance.
She noted that the agency is looking for a donor or a grant to provide case management services. After a 1998 tornado outbreak, CJFS received a grant and worked case management for two years.
On Wednesday at 7:15 p.m., the Southside faith communities will gather at Southside Baptist Church for an evening of "remembrance, thanksgiving and hope" marking one week since the tornadoes. Temple Emanu-El and Temple Beth-El are part of the Southside coalition.
Offers of assistance have been pouring into Alabama from Jewish communities across the country ever since the rash of tornadoes that went through the state Wednesday.
The outbreak has been described as historic. As of this morning there are 250 fatalities in Alabama, and hundreds are still unaccounted for. Some towns were completely leveled, such as Hackleburg and Phil Campbell, each of which had roughly 1000 residents before the storm.
In hard-hit Tuscaloosa, the new Bloom Hillel House, dedicated earlier this month, was untouched but without electricity for two days. Program Director Kathy Merrell said "the umbrellas stuck in the patio furniture are still as we left them," difficult to fathom because "the devastation was so close to us."
While the Jewish students at Alabama, numbering some 700, are all safe, some lost their apartments and have found new lodgings through the efforts of ZBT, or have simply gone home as final exams were cancelled and graduation moved to August.
Nettie and Gar Blume were in their Alberta City law office in Tuscaloosa when the tornado hit. They were pulled out of the rubble by five people, including someone he euphemistically told CNN was a local "self-employed pharmaceutical salesman" who will now get "free legal services for the rest of his life."
He added that 15 bodies had been pulled from wreckage within a block of their building.
In Huntsville, both congregations were fine, and there are no reports of injuries or lost houses in the Jewish community.
Rabbi Beth Bahar of Huntsville's Temple B'nai Sholom has been urging donations of food and gas gift cards. Larisa Thomason said one major issue is that with no electricity, most stores that are open are on a cash-only basis, which is an issue for many.
The Birmingham Jewish Federation made an emergency allocation of $25,000 for needs in the Jewish community, "which have been minimal," and in the broader community. There is also a BJF tornado recovery fundraising drive, which will be distributed by the BJF and Collat Jewish Family Services in coordination with United Way of Central Alabama. The Jewish Federation of Central Alabama in Montgomery is also coordinating fundraising with the BJF. Donations can be made by clicking here, and donors should note "tornado relief" in the comments box.
The Jewish Federations of North America urges Federations across the country to direct donors to the BJF site.
Joyce Spielberger, director of community relations for the BJF, said among the inquiries she received were "a Florida woman whose knitting guild wants to send handmade items for victims; an Atlanta Jewish teen group that wants to volunteer in Tuscaloosa; and my favorite -- the program director of Auburn University's Jewish Student Life Organization, telling me the Auburn students are organizing a relief response for the students at University of Alabama."
Marissa Grayson established a BJF team on the Hands On Birmingham website, which is coordinating volunteer efforts. Volunteers can search for "BJF Team" or her name, or for the Temple Emanu-El team. As volunteers needs are assessed, those who sign up will be contacted.
Birmingham's Temple Emanu-El had an already-scheduled garage sale to benefit the congregation's pre-school this weekend; profits will instead be donated to tornado relief. Congregants are urged to buy items, then donate them back to tornado relief efforts for a doubled effect.
The Southside Faith Communities in Birmingham, which includes Temple Emanu-El and Temple Beth-El, will hold an interfaith worship service on Wednesday at 7:15 p.m. at Southside Baptist Church.
The Birmingham Holocaust commemoration, postponed from Wednesday night, will be held at 4 p.m. today at Temple Emanu-El, and prayers will be added for the victims of this week's tornadoes.
The outbreak has been described as historic. As of this morning there are 250 fatalities in Alabama, and hundreds are still unaccounted for. Some towns were completely leveled, such as Hackleburg and Phil Campbell, each of which had roughly 1000 residents before the storm.
In hard-hit Tuscaloosa, the new Bloom Hillel House, dedicated earlier this month, was untouched but without electricity for two days. Program Director Kathy Merrell said "the umbrellas stuck in the patio furniture are still as we left them," difficult to fathom because "the devastation was so close to us."
While the Jewish students at Alabama, numbering some 700, are all safe, some lost their apartments and have found new lodgings through the efforts of ZBT, or have simply gone home as final exams were cancelled and graduation moved to August.
Nettie and Gar Blume were in their Alberta City law office in Tuscaloosa when the tornado hit. They were pulled out of the rubble by five people, including someone he euphemistically told CNN was a local "self-employed pharmaceutical salesman" who will now get "free legal services for the rest of his life."
He added that 15 bodies had been pulled from wreckage within a block of their building.
In Huntsville, both congregations were fine, and there are no reports of injuries or lost houses in the Jewish community.
Rabbi Beth Bahar of Huntsville's Temple B'nai Sholom has been urging donations of food and gas gift cards. Larisa Thomason said one major issue is that with no electricity, most stores that are open are on a cash-only basis, which is an issue for many.
The Birmingham Jewish Federation made an emergency allocation of $25,000 for needs in the Jewish community, "which have been minimal," and in the broader community. There is also a BJF tornado recovery fundraising drive, which will be distributed by the BJF and Collat Jewish Family Services in coordination with United Way of Central Alabama. The Jewish Federation of Central Alabama in Montgomery is also coordinating fundraising with the BJF. Donations can be made by clicking here, and donors should note "tornado relief" in the comments box.
The Jewish Federations of North America urges Federations across the country to direct donors to the BJF site.
Joyce Spielberger, director of community relations for the BJF, said among the inquiries she received were "a Florida woman whose knitting guild wants to send handmade items for victims; an Atlanta Jewish teen group that wants to volunteer in Tuscaloosa; and my favorite -- the program director of Auburn University's Jewish Student Life Organization, telling me the Auburn students are organizing a relief response for the students at University of Alabama."
Marissa Grayson established a BJF team on the Hands On Birmingham website, which is coordinating volunteer efforts. Volunteers can search for "BJF Team" or her name, or for the Temple Emanu-El team. As volunteers needs are assessed, those who sign up will be contacted.
Birmingham's Temple Emanu-El had an already-scheduled garage sale to benefit the congregation's pre-school this weekend; profits will instead be donated to tornado relief. Congregants are urged to buy items, then donate them back to tornado relief efforts for a doubled effect.
The Southside Faith Communities in Birmingham, which includes Temple Emanu-El and Temple Beth-El, will hold an interfaith worship service on Wednesday at 7:15 p.m. at Southside Baptist Church.
The Birmingham Holocaust commemoration, postponed from Wednesday night, will be held at 4 p.m. today at Temple Emanu-El, and prayers will be added for the victims of this week's tornadoes.
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