MAZON: a Jewish Response to Hunger
HOW KOL AMI CAN SUPPORT MAZON
Last month we explained a bit about Mazon’s history and why it is critical today to support Mazon. Now it’s time to get down to business: How we can support this vital organization. In a perfect world Mazon would not exist. Anyone drawing breath sees how far we are from this and that is why we must help those less fortunate. It is not a stretch to see yourself in a bad situation; sometimes it’s simply a poor decision or a job loss or any one of hundreds of bad breaks.
Getting started is easy! We can donate a portion of the cost of life cycle events such as Bat/Bar Mitzvah celebrations, weddings, brit milah, etc. At least 3% is the recommended amount but I doubt is any donation would be turned away. Let’s all strive to make this a permanent tradition in Jewish life.
It’s not all about the money.We need to become a Mazon Partner Synagogue.
A Mazon Partner Synagogue mobilizes its members to help Mazon end the injustice of hunger throughraising awareness, fostering advocacy and integrating tzedakah for hunger relief into holiday observances, community events and lifecycle celebrations. All MazonPartner Synagogues receive Mazon’s semi-annual newsletters, annual reports, progress reports on Mazon’s work and other timely hunger- and social justice-related information.
Benefits of Mazon Partnership include:
- Broad impact as part of a dynamic national Jewish community movement.
- Recognition on the Mazon website Partner Honor Roll.
- Acknowledgment in nationally distributed publications.
But they left out perhaps the most important benefit: knowing we’ve done the right thing and how good that makes us feel.
Let’s make Mazon a part of Passover.
The Symbolic Guest: Symbolically “let one who is hungry come and eat” by inviting Mazon to congregational, communal and home Seders. Donating to MAZON the amount that would have been spent on food for one extra guest at the Seder table is easy.
The 5th Question: For its 25th year, Mazon introduced “The 5th Question” to Passover seders: “Why on this night are millions of people going hungry?” Talk about how it would feel if you and your family lived meal-to-meal, and how you can make a difference.
And here I thought it was, “When do we eat?”
