SOMA Refugee Resettlement Program
Five years ago, members of Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel, Beth El Congregation and Congregation Oheb Shalom in South Orange-Maplewood New Jersey, came together in response to the growing humanitarian refugee crisis due to the Syrian civil war. The congregations pooled resources to fulfill the mitzvah- the sacred obligation- of welcoming the stranger. Ultimately, the group helped not one but three families begin new lives in America.
Our GoFundMe campaign to raise the necessary moneys to engage in this sacred work surpassed its goal within days of being launched.
Five years later the first family welcomed into our community are no longer strangers. They are valued and beloved community members who live and work in the community. One family member even began college this past fall.
None of that would have been possible were it not for the generosity of so many of you.
Now, five years later, we are once again turning to you for support.
Last spring our nation welcomed tens of thousands of families fleeing the upheaval in Afghanistan and promised to help them being new lives here in the land of opportunity. Our three synagogues are once again doing together and, in conjunction with HIAS, an agency that has been helping refugees for decades, will be welcoming an Afghan family to our community some time this spring. We have a leadership team and volunteers lined up and ready to put out the welcome mat but, before we can do so, we need to raise sufficient funds to ensure our new neighbors have a place to live and the resources they need to begin to put down new roots.
That’s where you come in.
Our goal is to raise $50,000 in the next month. Donations of any size will help us achieve our goal and, in the process, we will all play a role in this important effort.
In the Book of Leviticus (19:34) we are challenged,
The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.
We know our community is up to the task. And with your help, we will soon have a new family that will call South Orange-Maplewood “home.” Thank you in advance for doing your part to fulfill this ancient, yet still relevant, call to action.
Our GoFundMe campaign to raise the necessary moneys to engage in this sacred work surpassed its goal within days of being launched.
Five years later the first family welcomed into our community are no longer strangers. They are valued and beloved community members who live and work in the community. One family member even began college this past fall.
None of that would have been possible were it not for the generosity of so many of you.
Now, five years later, we are once again turning to you for support.
Last spring our nation welcomed tens of thousands of families fleeing the upheaval in Afghanistan and promised to help them being new lives here in the land of opportunity. Our three synagogues are once again doing together and, in conjunction with HIAS, an agency that has been helping refugees for decades, will be welcoming an Afghan family to our community some time this spring. We have a leadership team and volunteers lined up and ready to put out the welcome mat but, before we can do so, we need to raise sufficient funds to ensure our new neighbors have a place to live and the resources they need to begin to put down new roots.
That’s where you come in.
Our goal is to raise $50,000 in the next month. Donations of any size will help us achieve our goal and, in the process, we will all play a role in this important effort.
In the Book of Leviticus (19:34) we are challenged,
The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.
We know our community is up to the task. And with your help, we will soon have a new family that will call South Orange-Maplewood “home.” Thank you in advance for doing your part to fulfill this ancient, yet still relevant, call to action.
