SOCIAL JUSTICE/COMMUNITY SERVICE - CONEJO VALLEY/SAN FERNANDO VALLEY CHAPTER

Latest News/EVENTS Click to learn what is coming in a few months. Membership updates Information regarding membership. INTEREST GROUPS New groups are forming. Community Service Learn how to be involved with our community! Newsletter archives Brandeis University Brandeis University Updates

SOCIAL JUSTICE/COMMUNITY SERVICE COMMITTEE for CONEJO VALLEY/SAN FERNANDO VALLEY CHAPTER updates Social Justice Focus Giving Back to our Community There is no cost for these events, just your helping hands and a smile! If you would like to support our community, please contact Social Justice VP: Rosanne Lieban rosannelieban@gmail.com/a> MANNA CONEJO VALLEY FOOD PANTRY VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY! If you like to help, We Need 12 Volunteers! When: Wednesday, February 18, 1:30pm-3:30pm Where: Manna Conejo Valley Food Pantry: 95 N. Oakview Drive, Thousand Oaks What: You'll be assigned 1 of 3 possible activities: Sorting Donations Preparing Emergency Bags Restocking/Cleaning Pantry *Dress comfortably, wear closed-toe shoes *Consider activities may require repetitive motion, standing, bending, lifting (you can bring a folding chair to sit for short periods) *You will be sent a Liability Waiver to print out, complete, and bring with you to Manna CV Food Pantry on 2/18 RSVP to: mspsy2kids@aol.com by no later than Feb 11 *The first 12 rsvp's received will be selected* Thanks so much! Beth Doshay, Social Justice VP CALLING ALL ANIMAL LOVERS The Agoura Animal Shelter is a NO KILL Shelter. They collect recyclables which they turn into cash to provide care for the animals. Last year, this project netted over $9000. IT'S EASY! There are large bins on the property. Just fill a plastic bag with your items, toss them in the bin, and you are on your way. Although their main "ask" is for recyclables, they can always use blankets, towels, bowls and any other animal-appropriate items. The shelter is located at: 29525 Agoura Road Calabasas, CA 818-991-0071 Open Monday - Saturday, 11:00-5:00 Well, Brandeis Conejo Valley/San Fernando Valley has a project for you! MadHatter Knits Foundation provides beanies for preemies and newborns in hospitals through volunteers who love to knit, crochet, or loom. Did you know that 15 million preemies are born each year globally? Beanies help block heat from escaping these newborns' heads (where most heat escapes). Once out of their incubator, preemies need to maintain stable body temperature before being released from the NICU. These beanies help them reach that goal. We need Brandeis volunteers who love to knit, crochet, or loom to make at least 30 beanies which we will then donate to a local hospital. All we're asking is for each individual volunteer to make at least 1-2 beanies. If you want to make more, that's great! Please feel free to check out the MadHatter Knits Foundation website: (madhatterknits.org). There you'll find more information, including instructions/video on how to make these specifically sized/designed beanies using a loom kit. Once you decide you would like to volunteer, please contact me no later than August 15 for further details on how to proceed. We would love to have as many volunteers as possible and donate all hats to a hospital by November 1. It's a fun and worthwhile project! Thank you for helping babies thrive! Contact: Beth Doshay, Social Justice Vice-President mspsy2kids@aol.com Conejo Valley/San Fernando Valley Chapter of the Brandeis National Committee Let's Go Group in action: Let's Goers ere we are today, "stuffing" wonderful new clothes, blankets/sleeping bags, socks, toiletries, books, toys, etc. for foster kids at "Stuff My Bag" as our give back to our community event. This worthy organization accepts donations of new items to be placed in bags for children, ages babies to upper teens, who are rescued from some truly horrific circumstances and placed in foster care. These bags send a message that there are lots of people who truly care about them and are meant to provide some comfort for the children who are being separated from family, parents, etc., indeed a very scary frightening time in their young lives. 10 of us stuffed 200 bags and had a wonderful time doing it, with a lovely lunch following at Boccaccios.v OUR outgoing Co-President, Penny Greenblatt and our incoming Co-President Dell Smulowitz were working hard and stuffing bags like crazy!! Gloria, Etty and Judee joined us after serious medical issues. A terrific and heartwarming time was enjoyed by all. Brandeis members delivering food to be fed to the hungry The My Stuff Bags Foundation offers new belongings, comfort, and hope to thousands of kids all across the nation every year who must be placed in the foster care system or crisis shelters due to abandonment, abuse, domestic violence, homelessness, and neglect. Tragically, these kids often enter these places with little to nothing of their own. Stuff Bags event - February 2025 If you'd like to help, please RSVP to Rosanne Lieban, Social Justice VP rosannelieban@gmail.com/a> SOCIAL JUSTICE EVENTS THE SOCIAL JUSTICE COMMITTEE and BRANDEIS CONEJO VALLEY ASSEMBLING BRAILLE STORYBOOK KITS November 17, 2023 at Temple Etz Chaim 1080 E Janss Rd - Thousand Oaks The Braille Institute's Dots for Tots program provides children who are blind and visually impaired with FREE braille books and story-kits, to spark children's imaginations about themselves and the grand world around them. Operation Gratitude, proudly delivers care packages to deployed troops, first responders, military families, recruit graduates, veterans, and wounded heroes. at the V.A. Center, 9409 Owensmouth Ave Chatsworth April 13, 2023 My Stuff Bags Foundation provides a bag of items for children going through an unimaginably traumatic transition into foster care or crisis shelters, assuring them that someone cares. Photos from Tuesday, February 14th, event: we stuffed 200 bags for teens - boys and girls! at 5347 Sterling Center Dr. WLV Thank You for Supporting Manna with Your Food Drive! We collected 250 pounds of food for 2022 Holidays! Iris Antell irisflower4@gmail.com Roseanne Lieban roseanne.lieban@gmail.com Social Justice PROJECT LINUS Our support to the Ventura County Project Linus, supplying children's blankets to the underserved. Check our members creativity in the knitting, crocheting, tying, and quilting of children's blankets. All done in child-friendly colors, 36x36 or twin, washable, free of pins, made in a smoke-free home. Your support is greatly appreciated! Contact Iris Antell to participate: irisflower4@gmail.com SOCIAL JUSTICE PAST EVENT Thank you to our members for supporting the Sova Food Drive conducted by Temple Or Ami. Our contributions were well received. Our latest project was "Shoes For Souls". This was a huge success! New and used shoes in wearable condition for either adults or children April 15th - May 15th. These donations were distributed to the Los Angeles Mission. Pictures below of fully loaded cars with donated shoes, before delivery to the Los Angeles Mission. In the photos: Lindsay Sobel of Shoes for Souls and Penny Greenblatt, and Lindsay car filled to capacity with all of the shoes donated by our members. They are on there way to the Los Angeles Mission. We are only too pleased to be of assistance to our community members in need. Thank you for supporting our efforts in making a difference in the lives of others! SOCIAL JUSTICE PAST EVENT We were asking our Brandeis members to knit, crochet or loom hats & scarves to be donated to HOPE OF THE VALLEY HOMELESS PROJECT. Hope of the Valley provides multiple homeless shelters throughout the San Fernando Valley & Santa Clarita, including one for young adults aging out of foster care. This is a photo of our members' donations of knitted hats & scarves. Hope of the Valley Homeless Shelter was only too pleased to receive our efforts. The shelter expressed a need for men's/women's socks/underwear. Instead of our toy drive this year. Our community came together! Here is Look at the "mountain" of undies and socks that were collected for Hope of the Valley, and a photo of Penny, delivering the items to them. They were thrilled to receive it all. Thank you for your support as we assist others in need. We are collecting toiletries and gift items for Ronal McDonald House and SOVA. 3 Study Groups: "The Happy Wanderers"; "Lunch/Salon" and "Day Time Trotters" donated lovely gift items brought during their annual planning meetings. Those gift items were donated to Conejo Valley Charities. We delivered toys, food and gift bags to Ronald Mc Donald House during this holiday season. House staff, volunteers and parents of children were welcoming and very appreciative. We enjoyed a heartfelt-delightful and fun afternoon with lots of hugs and kisses. MITZVAH MAVENS We are a group of gals pleased to be of service to preform the MITZVAH of being at a home while mourners are attending a funeral. We will let in the delivery of the food so it will be set-up for the return of the mourners. If you are interested and would enjoy doing this Mitzvah {we welcome you} or if you need this MITZVAH call Gertie Sanders 805-230-1252 or Judy Perlman 818 878 0483. Gertie will then contact one of the MAVENS. (There is a Bereavement Support Group that meets at Temple Etz Chaim, Thousand Oaks the 2nd. and 4th. Wednesday From 9:30am. to 10:30am. Call for more information to: 805-497-6891. NO CHARGE. ) The Mavens are: Jessie Pearlman. Bev Sklar. Elaine Blonder. Elaine Leff Frona DeCovnick. 'For The Troops' Certificate of Appreciation (click on the image to view) This becomes a tradition! Every year our study group "Day Time Divas" dedicates a day to make care packages for our troops. These small contributions to our men and women who served and protect our country every day make everyone feel uplifted and this outing always gets the most attendance. Every year we get letters from the organization with thank you notes from our soldiers serving all over the world. The following are some of the institutions and programs with which we are involved: Books are collected and donated to local libraries. MANNA FOOD BANK: We collect and deliver canned and dry food to be distributed at the MANNA food distribution center (There will be a collection barrel at our special events). RONALD McDONALD HOUSE: We collect soda can tabs that are reconstituted and converted to cash to assist Ronald McDonald House. FOR OUR TROOPS: We collect toiletries and magazines to send to our men and women in the military. FOOD FORWARD.org: Our members designate to Food Forward those gardens with excess fruit and vegetables. The trees are then picked and food donated to food pantries. BOOK DISTRIBUTION: We collect books to donate to schools and organizations. . HOLIDAY TOY COLLECTION: We deliver unwrapped toys to many CONEJO VALLEY ORGANIZATIONS and Jewish Family Service.