Count Me In: Social Justice Initiative at the PJCC

Count Me In

Join like-minded people to do good in the world, make friends, and build community. Count Me In engages participants to help repair the world (tikkun olam) and make a positive impact in our local community, regionally, and in the world.

We offer our volunteers the opportunity to build lasting relationships with each other, other agencies, and the community around them. We offer opportunities for people of all ages—children and adults. We believe that all people can help those in need and be a part of something larger than themselves.

Each person makes a difference. Together we are responsible for making our community a place where we uphold dignity for all and seek to improve the world through our actions. Join us!

“How lovely to think that no one need wait a moment, we can start now, start slowly changing the world! How lovely that everyone, great and small, can make their contribution toward introducing justice straightaway… And you can always, always give something, even if it is only kindness!”—Anne Frank

Make Lunches for Samaritan House

2022 Dates: February 12, March 12, April 9, May 14, June 11, July 9, August 13, September 10, October 8, November 12, December 10
Register
Do a mitzvah (good deed) and make sandwiches for our neighbors at the Samaritan House. On the second Saturday of the month, please make 20 sack lunches. Each lunch should include:

A sandwich. It can be deli meat, peanut butter & jelly, a cheese sandwich, tuna salad, or egg salad. Your choice.
A piece of fruit – apple, orange, banana
A small bag of baby carrots
A single serving package (1.5-2oz) of either cookies or potato chips.
A juice box or water
Napkin

Please decorate your lunch bags and/or include a note of kindness.

Deliver your lunch bags to the back door of the Samaritan House kitchen located at 4031 Pacific Blvd in San Mateo at 10:00 am.

Registration required. Only sign up one person to represent your household. Each person signed up will need to make 20 lunches. If you have any questions, please contact Michele at msolomon@pjcc.org.

Vitalant Blood Drive at the PJCC

Wednesday, February 2 • 9:00 am – 2:00 pm

In honor of American Heart Month, the Vitalant Bloodmobile will be back at the PJCC!

Did you know that every blood donation has the potential to save the lives of three patients in need? You can help rebuild the blood supply to adequate levels as we continue to provide lifesaving blood to patients across Northern California.

Appointments are strongly encouraged to help maintain social distancing, and donors and staff must wear a mask. In addition, temperature checks are performed upon arrival and sanitizing and disinfecting measures are taking place throughout the process. (For all of Vitalant’s COVID-19 protocols, visit the Vitalant website.)

Be a lifesaver, schedule an appointment today! Use your unique sponsor code: PJCC

Social Action Family Circle

Sundays: February 13, March 13, April 10, April 24 and May 15

Looking to make new friends and do good in the world? Join our Social Action Family Circle! Connect with other Jewish families and work on monthly mitzvah (good deed) projects.

We will start each session with Havdalah to say goodbye to Shabbat and then we will work on family-friendly service projects to support our community and while learning and hanging out together

We ask that you are committed to this monthly group and attend all five sessions: February 13, March 13, April 10, April 24 and May 15.

Please register one person per family. Participating family members can be added in Question Section of the registration process. This is for families with child(ren) ages 5-9.

Registration required; sign up here.

Make a Difference in Our Community Now

Volunteers Needed for Second Harvest Food Distribution

Food distribution is a great hands-on volunteer activity. This include assisting with set up, unloading and moving food from pallets to the distribution tables; sorting and distributing food; loading pre-packed food boxes into vehicles and clean up. This volunteer activity does require some heavy lifting (a minimum of 25 lbs.) and regular movement. This is best suited for volunteers with strong mobility and no back issues. It’s a fun, physical outdoor opportunity working alongside other volunteers and community members.

Distribution happens the first and third Fridays of the month at the Foster City Park and Registration from 8:00 – 10:30 am. Minimum age is 18 years old.

If you are interested, please contact Michele via email at msolomon@pjcc.org or call 650.378.2780.

Grappling with Race in America

The North Peninsula Jewish Community and the Jewish Community Relations Council presented a series of three lectures exploring the experience of Black People and People of Color in America and the many aspects of injustice manifest in our society. Experts and leaders in their fields guided the conversations and invited us to ask hard questions and draw our own conclusions.

The Black Experience in America from Reconstruction to Today
View the recording of this presentation.
How have the politics and polices in our country since Reconstruction led to the racism and injustice of our time?
Dr. Peniel Joseph, Director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy and Barbara Jordan Chair of Ethics and Political Values, University of Texas, Austin.

Perspectives on Criminal Justice Reform and Police Reform
View the recording of this presentation.
How does inequity in our criminal justice system and in the process of policing manifest in the Bay Area and across the country? Featuring Dr. Paul Henderson, Director of the San Francisco Police Oversight Office.

The State of Educational Equity in California
View the recording of this presentation.
How do discrimination and inequity manifest in California’s educational system and what impact does this have on the lives of Black people, People of Color, and the poor? Featuring Natalie Wheatfall-Lum, Director of Policy, Education Trust-West.

Sponsored by Peninsula Temple Beth El, Peninsula Temple Sholom, Peninsula Sinai Congregation, Peninsula Jewish Community Center, the Jewish Community Relations Council of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin, Sonoma, Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, and the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund.

We believe that respecting and discussing diverse opinions and perspectives is what makes us a strong and vital community. We are committed to promoting civil discourse and being a “living room” where discussions on challenging topics can take place in open, inviting, and respectful ways.

Resources for Adults & Children

Books for Adults

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Children’s Books
I Am Rosa Parks by Brad Meltzer

Parker Looks Up: An Extraordinary Moment by Parker Curry and Jessica Curry

Bedtime Inspirational Stories: 50 Amazing Black People Who Changed the World

If You Were a Kid During the Civil Rights Movement by Gwendolyn Hooks

Civil Rights Then and Now: A Timeline of the Fight for Equality in America by Kristina Brooke Daniele

Movies

Get Out

12 Years a Slave

The Hate U Give

Moonlight

Confronting Injustice

As a Jewish organization with a heritage built on an unambivalent call to justice, the PJCC recognizes that we must take a firm stance against the injustice, inequality, and hate that blights our society.

Read the PJCC’s statements on Racism, Injustice, and Solidarity with the Black Community and LGBTQIA + Rights.

Supporting the Black Community

We condemn the senseless killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and all those who came before them. As a diverse PJCC community, we stand with the Black community in this moment. We cannot be silent or stand idly by while people inside and outside our immediate community are in pain and are unsafe because of the color of their skin.

The writer James Baldwin said it best, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

We must advocate for change while also reaching to care for one another and striving to listen to those who are most impacted. We must face this moment head on and work together for change.

Join us—stand up and say “Count Me In” as we work together as a community to educate ourselves, educate our children and take steps to combat racism.

Things You Can Do Right Now

Speak Up and Support Others

Be an UPStander!
We have all been a bystander at one time or another. It can be uncomfortable. Often people do not respond because they do not want to be a target of abuse themselves. Raise you voice when you hear racist remarks. Standing up to racism can be a powerful sign of support. It can also make the offender think twice about their actions. When responding, always assess the situation and never put yourself at risk. Your actions do not need to involve confrontation.

Make Your Home a Safe Zone
Ten-year-old Cruz of Burlingame invites the Peninsula community to come together and put up signs of support in our windows. He says, “I want my generation to come together and be kind to each other. Love more. Smile more. I know we can stand together and see past color and see people for who they are inside. We all have beautiful skin.” Join Cruz and put a sign in your window showing your support for the Black community.

Educate Yourself

Supporting Jews of Color
Connect with Be’chol Lashon, Jewish Multiracial Network, Jews of Color Field Building Initiative, and other organizations elevating and centering Jews of Color.

One Anti-Racist Action a Day
This newsletter serves as a means of accountability and support by sharing one concrete, anti-racist action you can take each day—for example, a petition to sign or an email to send to a congressperson. Subscribe now.

Take Action

Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ)
Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) is a national network of groups and individuals organizing for racial justice. Join a local SURJ Chapter and get engaged with the struggle for racial justice in our community.

Get More Weekly Action Tips
Our partner 2 for Seder has begun to send “Weekly Action Tips” with suggestions for small, meaningful activities you can do. Each Action Tip is effective against the bigger picture of hate and anti-Semitism. Most activities are quick and the most effective ones for you will involve an activity that you are already doing. Sign up today!

Educate Your Children

Talking to Your Kids about Race: A (Virtual) Conversation
How should parents talk to their children and teens about race? In this video, brought to you by the The Parent Education Series, they bring together a distinguished panel of experts to address this question, and to offer insights into an often difficult, fraught subject: race in America.

Panelists include Julie Lythcott-Haims, JD, MFA: Former Dean at Stanford, speaker, activist, New York Times bestselling author of How to Raise an Adult and Real American: A Memoir; Donald E. Grant, Jr., PhD: Executive Director, Center for Community & Social Impact, Pacific Oaks College; Eric Abrams, MBA: Chief Inclusion Officer, Stanford Graduate School of Education; and Kareem Graham, PhD: Senior Scientist (Immunologist), author of “White parents, talk to your kids about race” (San Francisco Chronicle, Opinion, June 9, 2020).

Your Kids Aren’t Too Young to Talk About Race: Resource Roundup from Pretty Good

31 Books to Support Conversations on Race, Racism, and Resistance

Talking With Children About Racism, Police Brutality and Protests by Laura Markham