TEMPLE JEREMIAH HAS LAUNCHED ITS FIRST TEMPLE-WIDE SOCIAL ACTION PROJECT as Brotherhood, Sisterhood, Empty Nesters, Religious School, our Youth Groups and our B'nai Mitzvah candidates have joined together to assist the Waukegan School District.

One of the most impoverished districts in northern Illinois, the Waukegan schools lack sufficient libraries and school supplies and offer only limited after-school sports activities, field trips and art enrichment programs.

Everyone at the Temple has worked together, from the Brotherhood and Sisterhood to the Empty Nesters, the Sunday School and the congregation at large to make this program an amazing success. Here is what we have accomplished so far:

• The entire congregation participated in collecting over 300 backpacks and school supplies for students for the 2006/07 school year.
• Sisterhood raised funds from the sale of its cookbook for the Waukegan Public Schools to purchase educational on-line publishing software so teachers can create their own class materials for five and six-year-olds at Whittier School.
• The entire congregation donated 4000 new and gently used books for 5 to 6 year olds to build a library at the Whittier Kindergarten Center in Waukegan. United Way built beautiful shelving for the books.
• Temple Jeremiah Religious School children brought money to school and purchased over 400 level readers for Whittier Kindergarten Center (see photos below) to help build its reading program.
• Empty Nesters started a one-on-one Reading Program where 23 Temple members go to the Whittier School every month and engage in a hands-on program to read to kindergartners.
• Brotherhood completed installation of a playground at Waukegan's EPIC Pre-School in October, 2006 with the help of its Scrips Program.
• Sunday School donated hundreds of gloves, hats and scarves for 120 homeless children who attend the Waukegan Public Schools.
• A congregant in the education business donated 500 educational videos to the Waukegan elementary and high schools.
• A congregant in the furniture business secured furniture for the new Whittier School Library.
• A congregant in the audio-visual business donated two 32-inch TVs to the Waukegan schools.

The temple's Annual Meeting on June 13, 2006 included recognition of the many congregants who volunteered to make the Waukegan School District project a success this year.

Ongoing Initiatives

Waukegan Learning Kitchen

Help Wanted:
Friday, May 16, 2008
9:15 - 11:45 am or 1:00 - 3:30 pm
Waukegan EPIC Pre-School

The Social Action Committee is looking for volunteers to help at Waukegan EPIC Pre-School's Learning Kitchen on Friday, May 16 during the school's carnival. This is a great opportunity to see the kitchen, meet the students and families and lend a hand at the carnival. Volunteers will work at the learning kitchen station, doing a simple activity such as demonstrating a kitchen lesson. Contact Social Action if you can lend a hand.

You can help the Waukegan Learning Kitchen on an ongoing basis during the year by purchasing Scrips. Proceeds from the Scrip sales will benefit various improvements to the kitchen.

Pictured below are Brotherhood members and other Temple Jeremiah congregants pitching in on Sunday, January 6, 2008 to transform the kitchen at the EPIC Preschool into a learning kitchen for the students and staff there:

(From left) Brad Ross and Joel Rovner	Steve Miller, Greg Richards and Joel Rovner	Ernie Frankl

Reading Program

Empty Nesters is looking for adult congregants to read and play educational games with kindergartners at Whittier Kindergarten Center in Waukegan once a month during the school day. The time commitment is flexible - one day/one session per month, usually on the third Tuesday or Wednesday.

Volunteers are assigned a cooperating teacher. Veteran volunteers will return to their previous assignments. Materials are already in the classrooms. This is a highly gratifying, worthwhile experience.

If you are interested, please contact Sheila Schlaggar.

Contributions

Contributions to the Waukegan Schools Project can be made through Social Action. Send a check payable to the temple's Social Action fund and designate"Waukegan School Project." Contributors may identify where their donations should be forwarded, i.e. Library, Technology, Basal Readers, or Artist-in-Residence. Each one of these is being actively pursued by an entity of Temple Jeremiah.

Past Waukegan Projects

Brotherhood Waukegan Playground Project

October, 2006

Brotherhood completed installation of a new playground at Waukegan School District's North Shore EPIC Pre-School in October, 2006.

Open House at Whittier Kindergarten Center

Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Whittier School

This ceremony at Whittier School, officiated by Rabbi Cohen, honored the partnership between the Waukegan School District and the many people at Temple Jeremiah who aided in its growth this year, including

• Empty Nesters who participated in a one-on-one reading program at Whittier Kindergarten Center.
• Congregants who participated in building the Whittier Library and supplying it with books.
• Congregants who participated in the Backpack Drive.
• Brotherhood members who assisted with construction of the playground.
• Participants in the Clothing and Book Drive.

On hand were Waukegan School District Superintendent Dr. Richard Olsen and representatives of Temple Jeremiah Click here to view a video of the Whittier School dedication.

Backpack Drive

2006/07 School Year

Congregants and Sunday School students collected and filled backpacks with schools supplies for the Waukegan students in 2006/07. Thanks to everyone for their generous contribution.

Clothing and Book Drive

January 8 - 25, 2006

Temple Jeremiah’s Religious School collected new warm clothing items and basic-level readers for needy students in the school district. Thanks to the generosity of our congregants and school children, we collected dozens of new hats, scarves, mittens/gloves and socks, as well as 400 level readers. Thank you!

Whittier Kindergarten Center Library Project

2006/07 School Year

Temple Jeremiah Recognized by United Way of Lake County

Celebrated Volunteers

Rabbi Paul Cohen, Lynn Tracy, Manager of Community Engagement at United Way, and temple congregant Barbara Miller at the United Way Annual Meeting

Temple Jeremiah was recognized for its efforts on behalf of the Waukegan School District at the United Way of Lake County's Annual Meeting, "Celebrating the Power of Community," in May, 2007. Temple Jeremiah was among the "Celebrated Volunteers" contributing to the United Way's "Success by 6" early learning initiative. Rabbi Paul Cohen and Social Action Committee Co-Chair Barbara Miller were on hand at the presentation ceremony.

"Success by Six" recognizes the importance of children learning at an early age in order to be successful later in life. To achieve that goal, United Way has launched a number of initiatives, including investing money to meet basic health and housing needs, printing human service resource guides, creating a Women's Leadership Council to improve the lives of Lake County's women and children and publishing the first "Kindergarten Readiness Calendar" to prepare preschool age children for kindergarten.

But United Way also looks to the outside community for assistance and Temple Jeremiah, along with a number of other community organizations and individuals, have been in the vanguard of volunteers who, in the words of Lake County Recorder of Deeds Mary Ellen Vanderventer, helped to "drive the strategic direction and work of Success by 6."

Specifically, the temple was recognized for building a new playground at the EPIC Pre-School led by Brotherhood, conducting a backpack and school supply drive, providing a one-on-one reading program for kindergartners at Whittier School led by Empty Nesters and providing educational on-line publishing software for teachers led by Sisterhood. Temple Jeremiah's contributions were considered particularly remarkable because of its distance from Waukegan. "The commitment of the entire congregation to reach out to an entire community of children is very admirable," Jennifer Yonan of United Way notes.

Temple Jeremiah is proud of its efforts to help Waukegan area residents and plans to continue to work on their behalf.

Find out how you can make a difference - contact the United Way of Lake County.