Services This Month
Upcoming Events
Celebrating Birthdays and Anniversaries in June
6/14 Esther & Stephen Thomas
6/17 Maddie Teller-Kook & Dr. Alan Kook
6/22 Diane Stepakof-Fay & Jason Fay
6/23 Rosanne & Mark Levbarg
6/24 Cindy & Jim Tarsi
6/25 Diane and Dr Leslie Schlanger
6/05 Helaine Kramsky
6/06 Oliver Weisbrod
6/08 George Simmons
6/11 Dorie Mickelson
6/12 Bruce Bitner
6/13 Rabbi Rebecca Reice
6/13 Jack Dashefsky
6/16 Addie Gisser
6/18 Rachel VanScoyoc
6/19 Maxine Kaplan
6/19 Dottie Elliott
6/26 Lisa Zeevi
6/27 Paula Gentry
Board of Trustees Monthly Meeting Monday, June 10 at 6:15 pm
Book: The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
Shir Ami News
Mi Shebeirach
as we enter summer, our thoughts go to wonderful outdoor activities and excitement for the upcoming fall season. This is also a time when we start to think about the High Holy Days. There are many ways to be involved, including joining the High Holy Days Committee. Please consider joining the team and let us know if you would be interested! You can contact me, Sarmi Stewart, by phone (956) 455-6707 or by email at sarmihstewart@gmail.com I look forward to hearing from you.
Our small Ark has been given a makeover! Please contact Eloise Potter if you would like to see the small Ark and don't have access to the room.
In pursuit of her MA in Jewish Education, Rabbi Reice wrote a curriculum for adult learners around the idea of Betrayals of Trust. She offered to pilot a few sessions to gauge interest among our congregants. This session could be taught in person or on Zoom depending on the preference of those who register. Free to members, $18 to non-members. The first two sessions of this course look at Nasty Narratives. This first session, in honor of Juneteenth, examines Nastiness in the American narrative. The second session does the same but in the uniquely Jewish context. Click here to register!
Shir Ami and Drive a Senior Northwest – Partners in Supporting our Older Adults
Please consider becoming a volunteer driver for the Drive a Senior Northwest program. By offering to drive someone just one or two short trips a month, you will be an unbelievable help to our many older adults still living at home in the northwest Austin/Cedar Park/Leander area. Driving an older adult is incredibly rewarding and very much appreciated. Please go online to driveaseniornorthwest.org to read about the program, then print a volunteer form, fill it out, and mail it in. Or ask Sara Goodman (sgoodman123@gmail.com) for more information about the program.
If you or a loved one is 60+ and needs help to stay in your/their home, Drive A Senior Northwest is here for you. Services include rides to doctor’s appointments, the grocery store, community activities, etc. as well as minor home repair, telephone reassurance, and a twice monthly senior day out. Contact Drive a Senior Northwest at driveaseniornorthwest.org or (512) 250-5021.
Community News
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What: JFS is presenting AS+K About Suicide to Save a Life, a 3-hour training that teaches community partners and stakeholders to recognize the warning signs, clues, and suicidal communications of people in psychological distress and identify what action to take to prevent a possible tragedy. Why: As community staff and leaders, YOU have daily contacts with one another and with the community, making YOU well positioned to save lives. Our community is a healthier community when each of us is trained in noticing signs and symptoms of distress and knowing what to do. When: June 10 from 1-4pm RSVP: https://secure2.convio.net/shalom/site/Calendar?id=105521&view=Detail |
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Peace Lutheran Church, a small church on 620, is inviting the community to be part of creating four units of transitional housing on Peace's campus for families experiencing homelessness. Typically it takes about three months to find permanent housing for families, so this facility would serve about 12 families per year. Once the funds are raised, the construction will be done by Home Aid, an organization that works with non-profits to build needed housing, and finds discounted or donated materials and labor. Foundation for the Homeless has consulted on the design, and will be running the facility. All money donated will only be used for housing. No donations will be used for support of Peace Lutheran Church operations or ministry. Because of a generous legacy gift from Lord of Life Lutheran Church, and other donations and grants, about $550,000 of the needed $1.2 million has already been raised. As soon as the remaining funds are raised, construction will begin. The target is to have the facility built and serving families in 2025.
The even bigger dream is that Peace hopes to begin a movement where needed housing is built on other other non-profits' land, so more people could have safe housing. Please consider being part of this project, either through Amplify Austin - "I live here, I give here" campaign this month (under Housing) or via the Peace Housing Project website. More information is available on both of these links, including a floor plan. My husband, Ed Bailen, who is a member of Shir Ami, and I are excited to be so directly part of a local project to provide safe housing for families. We are happy to answer any questions you might have.
- Irene Beattie & Ed Bailen
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I am hoping to bring A Matter of Balance to Shir Ami and Live Oak before the end of the year. A Matter of Balance is a fun and dynamic course that emphasizes practical strategies to manage falls and maintain an active, healthy lifestyle. This course is given under the auspices of CaregiverU, a program of AGE of Central Texas.
The biggest hurdle to our beginning to offer the course is that we need at least two – and preferably three – volunteer Class Leaders (instructors) for the course. Training takes place in two five-hour sessions, which will be scheduled once we have the volunteers. Class leaders are expected to teach the course twice in the first year and once each year after that for as long as you remain a volunteer.
The course itself, which is free to all participants, is offered in eight two-hour sessions, either once a week for eight weeks or twice a week for four weeks. (My preference is the latter.) The course is usually taught during the day, since many of the target audience have trouble driving after dark, but one of my hopes for this is to schedule at least one session in late afternoon, so that anyone who needs the course but is still working can attend. We can decide later specifically how we want to schedule it.
I attended this course recently when it was presented by my neighborhood community center. I really enjoyed it and got a *lot* out of it, so much so that even others are noticing.
If you are interested in being trained and becoming a volunteer class leader, please email me at senior-vp@shir-ami.com or text me at 512-699-7913. Once we have trained leaders available, we will schedule the first round of classes.
- Cindy Tarsi
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Free to attend
Volunteer for Shalom Austin JFS Food Pantry
Interest Free Loans