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Group organizes Holy Days food drive
The Jewish community and Catholic diocese are working together to fight poverty and hunger.
YOUNGSTOWN — Believers from all faiths in the Mahoning Valley combat hunger through various avenues. Some places of worship offer food pantries, sponsor free dinners or conduct food collections.
“Fighting Poverty with Faith” is an initiative of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation and Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Youngstown.
Representatives of both organizations recently had a letter to the editor published in this newspaper and noted that nearly 37 million Americans live in poverty and one in five children lives in a family facing food insecurity.
One way the Jewish community helps hungry people is through the annual High Holiday Food Drive, planned for Monday through Oct. 23. This project begins as the High Holidays begin. The eve of Rosh Hashana is Monday, and Yom Kippur, Oct. 9. The observance, also known as High Holy Days, is when the days of penitence are observed and conclude with the Day of Atonement.
“This is a time of reflection and renewal,” said Bonnie Deutsch Burdman, director of community relations and government affairs with the Jewish Community Relations Council. “It’s a time of weighing what you did this year and promising to do better next year.
“One of the ‘mitzvahs,’ or commandments in Judaism, is to help the less fortunate. The idea of doing good deeds is scripturally based.”
Deuteronomy 15:11 says, “For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.”
Helping the needy is a core belief of Judaism, Burdman added.
Rachel Hrbolich, associate director of social services for Catholic Charities Services of the Diocese of Youngstown, said Catholic Charities of the USA, its umbrella organization, made a commitment in 2007 “to reduce poverty in American society” and “to cut poverty in half by 2020.”
Hrbolich said Catholic Charities endorses the campaign and evaluated its own agencies, programs and services to determine if it was doing enough and what more could be done. She also noted staff is going through the book “Bridges out of Poverty,” which helps those who work with impoverished people to understand the situation of poverty.
Catholic Charities provides emergency assistance with food, medicine, utilities, rent and mortgages.
Another resource being accessed, Hrbolich said, are Ohio Benefit Bank Sites, available at all of the Catholic Charities offices in the Mahoning Valley.
“This links people with the benefits for which they are eligible, but they may not know it,” she said.
Sites are Catholic Charities Regional Agency, 2401 Belmont Ave., Youngstown; and Catholic Charities offices at 175 Laird Ave. N.E., Warren; 115 E. Washington St., Libson; and 600 E. Fourth St., East Liverpool.
“The regional agency distributes a lot of food vouchers,” Hrbolich said.
She added that many parishes of the diocese also contribute to fighting hunger by operating food pantries.
Hrbolich said a fundraiser to benefit diocese assistance programs takes places annually and is the Voice of Hope dinner. The event will be Oct. 24; contact Shellie Sabel at the diocese, (330) 744-8451, ext. 322, for tickets.
Burdman said the Jewish Community Relations Council and Catholic Charities will be working toward the “Big Hairy Audacious Goal” (a phrase used by James Collins and Jerry Porras in their book “Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies.”) She reiterated the goal of cutting poverty in half by 2020. “It will be holding people in office accountable ... advancing legislation,” she said. “For those who get into [political] offices, we want to see them make meaningful changes in their first 100 days.”
“We can do this as a community,” she said. “This group is as broad-based as you can imagine.” Burdman noted that at a recent Wean Foundation event, Bishop George V. Murry spoke eloquently on the issue of poverty and hunger and how faith-based organizations can help.
linonis@vindy.com