As we announced in our last update, the Westfield Fun Club, working with the International Rescue Committee, has asked us to “adopt” some refugee families in need of food and household essentials for the summer.  Thanks to the generosity of our community, we have been able to commit to supporting three food-insecure families, at a cost of about $100 a week for eight weeks.  Each of the families is headed by a single mom, and has one or two children.

This past week, we arranged for the first deliveries.  In case you’re wondering what $100 can buy, we’ve copied below the order list for one of the families.  (The total cost, including tip for the delivery-person, was $99.50.) As you can see, it’s certainly not enough to sustain a household completely, but we’re hoping that it will serve as a useful supplement to whatever the families are able to put together from other sources.

The families are extremely grateful for our assistance.  Here is a text from one of the moms, Ghamar, who is originally from Iran and has been in the U.S. for four years:

Thanks  god bless you and all who serving

Ghamar lives in Elizabeth with her 12-year-old son, Sina, who is in 7th grade.  According to Ghamar, Sina likes to play with his friends and wants to be a policeman when he grows up.

This commitment to the three families exhausts the Refugee Group’s current financial resources.  If you would like to enable us to continue to help the many refugee families in need, please send a contribution to Shomrei’s Rabbi Discretionary Fund, Refugee Assistance, either online (http://shomrei.org/refugee) or by check through the mail (Congregation Shomrei Emunah, 67 Park Street, Montclair, NJ 07042).  If you send a check, please make it out to Congregation Shomrei Emunah, Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund and indicate in the memo line that it should be directed to Refugee Assistance.

As always, thank you for your continued support.

Regards,
Judith, Mike and Andy
What we purchased for $99.50.