Focus and Fight Poverty: Take action this week!

The current economic recession is testing our community and families. Applications for food stamps and food bank usage are on the rise. Unemployment is up. The need for our Jewish community to come together to address poverty has never been greater.

For the second year in a row, the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle is spearheading a Jewish community-wide initiative, Focus and Fight: A Call to End Poverty.

Focus and Fight is our community’s response to the crushing burden of poverty that too many families and individuals feel. During this week of Sukkot, October 2-9, Jewish organizations and community members will be working collectively to alleviate poverty through a series of coordinated events and activities.

Focus and Fight offers many opportunities to participate:

• Parents, teachers and schools can use a newly created curriculum with activities and anti-poverty messaging.
• Mitzvah Match pairs synagogues and schools with nonprofit organizations in need of household goods, clothing and supplies for their needy clients. As part of the Mitzvah Match, the Jewish Federation is collecting volunteers instead of goods. We created a Professional Resource Bank that will be used to help Jewish Family Service clients with professional, medical and legal services.
• Join the Washington State Jewish Action Center. It is an easy way to stay informed about issues that impact social service agencies and low-income people and take direct action to address the challenges of chronic poverty debated in Olympia and Washington, DC.

Learn about all of the ways you can participate and our community co-sponsors at www.JewishInSeattle.org/FightPoverty.