{"id":29847,"date":"2012-11-09T00:17:49","date_gmt":"2012-11-09T05:17:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=29847"},"modified":"2017-02-16T13:26:10","modified_gmt":"2017-02-16T18:26:10","slug":"ou-hurricane-relief-fund-aids-communities-and-individuals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/news\/ou-hurricane-relief-fund-aids-communities-and-individuals\/","title":{"rendered":"OU Hurricane Relief Fund Aids Communities and Individuals at Point of Impact; May be Accessed at www.ou.org"},"content":{"rendered":"

Proceeds To Be Distributed By Rabbis\u2019 Discretionary Funds At Shuls In Affected Areas<\/strong><\/p>\n

In an entirely new approach to fund raising in the wake of a national disaster, in this case Hurricane Sandy, the Orthodox Union is already receiving contributions to its newly established Hurricane Relief Fund,<\/a> in which proceeds will go directly to the Rabbi\u2019s Discretionary Fund in stricken areas so that needed assistance will be distributed on the ground at the point of impact by the rabbis who are dealing with the situation day by day.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho knows better than the rabbis the suffering in their own communities,\u201d said Dr. Simcha Katz, OU President. \u201cLikewise, they know the damage inflicted on local Jewish institutions, the synagogues and yeshivot, including their own shul. That is why this unique means of delivering aid has been chosen by the OU for its Fund.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Katz noted that the OU has established a committee to allocate Hurricane Relief Funds to the affected communities.\u00a0 \u201cSome will be outright gifts and some will establish non-interest loan funds so that when people are reimbursed by their insurance company or by FEMA, those funds can be used by someone else in an effort that is certain to go on for years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Contributions may be made to the Fund at www.ou.org<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0 In addition, those with hurricane-related problems, community requests or alerts can email the Orthodox Union at <\/strong>hurricane@ou.zendesk.com<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a condition resembling wartime, with people\u2019s homes destroyed, lives disrupted, memories of a lifetime swept away, jobs unreachable, schools closed, infrastructure disabled, despair everywhere and recovery a process that may take years, the OU went into action, as it so often has done when nature erupts. This Fund follows the Hurricane Katrina relief effort and other emergency funds established by the OU in the recent years to deal with natural disasters.<\/p>\n

According to Dr. Katz and Paul Glasser, OU Senior Director of Institutional Advancement, \u201cMany of our communities were in the direct path of Sandy and many families were left homeless.\u00a0 In an effort to help with the relief and recovery for those of us who have been most affected, we have established this Fund, as we did in the case of New Orleans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Communities most deeply affected include Long Beach, which was almost completely destroyed; the Rockaway Peninsula, including Belle Harbor; and the Five Towns of Nassau County, all in New York.<\/p>\n

The OU leaders noted that they have already reviewed reports of damage to Orthodox facilities, such as Congregation Ohab Zedek in Belle Harbor in the Rockaways<\/strong>, which has 12 feet of water, completely destroying the Beit Midrash<\/em>. The Manhattan Beach Jewish Center <\/strong>in Brooklyn had its basement flooded. The Young Israel of Oceanside <\/strong>on Long Island had extensive flooding, ruining its lower level and all of its youth rooms, as well as damage to its sanctuary. At the same time, the iconic Bachurei Chemed Synagogue <\/strong>in Long Beach suffered significant water damage and the rabbi\u2019s residence was destroyed.\u00a0 The Young Israel of Woodmere<\/strong> was flooded and damaged, and its rabbi\u2019s house was severely damaged.<\/p>\n

Rabbi Steven Weil, Dr. Katz and Rabbi Judah Isaacs, OU Director of Community Engagement, visited the flooded community of Woodmere in the Five Towns of Long Island and then went to the nearby Rockaway Peninsula, surrounded by water on three sides.<\/p>\n

Rabbi Isaacs reported, \u201cAs you drive around the neighborhoods, house after house has the contents of the basement and first floor dumped on the street to be picked up by the Sanitation Department. There are literally no basements or first floors.\u201d\u00a0 He quoted Rabbi Hershel Billet of the Young Israel of Woodmere, who stated, \u201cPeople are in a state of shock,\u201d adding that even if they get back power, their boilers have been washed away.<\/p>\n

At a shelter in Far Rockaway, a woman reduced Dr. Katz to tears when she told him, \u201cI lost everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, OU programs such as New York NCSY based in the Five Towns, and the Seif Jewish Learning Institute on Campus program at Queens College, have begun their own disaster relief efforts.\u00a0 New York NCSY Director Chief Operating Officer Carol Rhine wrote, \u201cNCSY has been\u00a0very busy working around the clock with disaster relief programs to help out those neighborhoods that experienced devastating destruction, loss of homes, and loss of power. Our NCSY teens in Brooklyn have been very busy hosting families that are displaced from their homes, and preparing meals in local food shelters for those who have no access to food.<\/p>\n

\u201cGroups of our teens are meeting in Westchester\u00a0and want to mobilize to help.\u00a0 Across Long Island we are busy going door to door, checking on teens and their families, assisting with clean up, collecting Shaimos<\/em> (religious items mentioning God\u2019s name, which must be buried in cemeteries), organizing food drives, and also worked with one shul to preserve their Sifrei Torahs<\/em> damaged by water.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom several\u00a0conversations with lay leaders to strategize how to continue to\u00a0best utilize our assets,\u201d Mrs. Rhine continued, \u201cwe believe that the best\u00a0idea right now\u00a0is to organize groups of\u00a0volunteers and to send them to specific areas that need assistance. Working together with Achiezer<\/em>, the Long Island community resource center which is the hub of disaster relief here, we will be directed to respond to specific\u00a0needs in the Long Island area.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Queens College, Rabbi Robby Charnoff , Torah Educator of the JLIC program, wrote to students:\u00a0 \u201cOur hearts go out to all those who suffered losses during the devastation of hurricane Sandy. Whether it be power, heat, cars, basements or entire homes or businesses, the effects of this disaster will be felt for a long time. As we continue to hear about the fallout of this terrible blow to our greater community, we want to make sure that all of you know that the Queens College Jewish Community, particularly through Queens College Hillel and the OU Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus, along with all of your fellow students, are here to help in any way we can.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince the beginning of this semester we have been placing a strong emphasis on what we have coined, \u2018transforming a commuter school mentality into a Queens College Jewish Community.\u2019 Those were not mere words and we wish to do everything in our power to assist our larger, broader, QC Jewish community in this difficult time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the spirit of the adage of our sages,\u00a0emor me’at va’aseh harbei<\/em>\u00a0—\u00a0say little and do much\u00a0<\/em>(Avot 1:15<\/em>), we want to focus on\u00a0the immediate, practical efforts\u00a0being made to assist our students who are in need.\u201d<\/p>\n

In another action, New Jersey NCSY, which has done clean-up efforts in New Orleans and around the country, did not have far to go today \u2013 20 minutes to the town of Hoboken, flooded by the waters of New York Harbor and the Hudson River. They will continue their efforts Friday and Sunday\u00a0 under the leadership of Rabbi Ethan Katz.<\/p>\n

Considering the needs and the expected OU response, President Katz and Mr. Glasser said, \u201cOur community has always proven itself to be exceedingly resilient. We hope it can find comfort in knowing that we have been, and always will be one. As a community we\u2019ve shown time and time again that when help is needed we are there for each other.\u00a0 This time will be no different.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Orthodox Union will be working to help our communities recover and rebuild,\u201d Dr. Katz and Mr. Glasser firmly declared. \u201cWe will not be deterred and we know that the response to our Fund, drawing on the commitment to acts of chessed<\/em> (loving-kindness), will be generous and heart-warming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Donate now!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Proceeds To Be Distributed By Rabbis\u2019 Discretionary Funds At Shuls In Affected Areas In an entirely new approach to fund raising in the wake of a national disaster, in this case Hurricane Sandy, the Orthodox Union is already receiving contributions to its newly established Hurricane Relief Fund, in which proceeds will go directly to the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":730,"featured_media":29645,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,96],"tags":[98],"class_list":["post-29847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-news","tag-hurricane-sandy"],"yoast_head":"\nOU Hurricane Relief Fund Aids Communities, Individuals at Point of Impact<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In the spirit of the adage "say little and do much" we want to focus on the immediate, practical efforts 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