Eight Facts for Eight Nights
Everyone has something they love about Hanukkah — dreidel, gelt, gifts, the timeless debate over the proper condiment for latkes (we’re split 50/50, ourselves). At JRA, we’re a big fan of Hanukkah’s enduring spirit of generosity. In honor of that generosity, here are eight fun facts about JRA and the work we do.
When someone asks why you love Purim, you say…
Hamantaschen! Which also happens to be what we put in our Purim box. Four times a year, we pack the food box with special Jewish holiday food that recipients love, but can’t always get their hands on. Here’s what they get:
Purim-Each box includes a container of hamantaschen.
Passover-All food provided is kosher for Passover. We also include specialty foods like gefilte fish, matzo, and borscht.
Rosh Hashanah-Recipients get everything they’ll need to ring in a sweet new year: apples, honey, and sometimes honey cake.
Hanukkah-Special items in this month’s box included potatoes, onions, latke mix, vegetable oil, and chocolate gelt.
Signed with a smile
Got a creative side? You can sign up to write and decorate birthday cards for JRA recipients. Every month, we send cards out to recipients for their birthdays. If you’re with a camp, school group, company, or other organization, we’ll even add your logo to the card. It’s a great volunteer opportunity for all ages! Interested? Go here for more details.
Double your impact with the CANpaign
Have some tzedakah saved up? Make your mitzvah go twice as far with JRA. All donations to the coin counting machine in our warehouse are matched by Beneficial Bank (up to $10,000!) Bring your tzedakah CAN to a distribution (or to our office in Bala Cynwyd) to double your gift. More info here.
Yellow Cappers light the way at JRA
If you’ve ever been to one of our food distributions, you’ll have noticed volunteers in neon-yellow shirts doing everything from making boxes to loading cars. These lead volunteers are called Yellow Cappers. The name originates from the yellow baseball caps that they used to wear! Both they and their high school-aged counterparts, the Junior Yellow Cappers, attend at least 6 distributions per year. Want to join the club? Apply here. Don’t worry, the t-shirt is included.
In the beginning there were nineteen
JRA’s first-ever food distribution in 2000 served nineteen Russian-speaking families. Within a few weeks, we received over 1,000 calls from people asking for assistance, and the rest is history. Today, we serve over 3,200 households across Greater Philadelphia every month.
Hunger doesn’t take a vacation
Volunteer turnout at JRA distributions varies depending on the time of year. If you volunteer with us in December or January, you’ll see our warehouse packed with over 1,000 volunteers (this month, we had 1,400)! During the summer, though, attendance is typically between 500 and 700. The takeaway: to maximize your impact, come to a distribution in June, July, or August.
Think outside the box
JRA does more than just deliver food. Through JRAid, volunteers and certified contractors provide many services to recipients including weatherization, minor home repairs, transportation, and friendly phone visits. Here’s how you can get involved:
- Go to www.jraid.org to create a volunteer account and browse available volunteer gigs.
- Refer your favorite contractor to us at jra@jewishrelief.org
Did somebody say “bagels?”
Last but certainly not least: the delicious bagels we provide at every distribution are from New York Bagel Bakery, located at 7555 Haverford Avenue in Philadelphia. If you’re in the area, stop by and say hello to Nick!
