Author: trivalleyculturaljews

Join our Interfaith Community and the American Red Cross for their lifesaving April blood drive!

~ trivalleyculturaljews ~ Leave a comment

The need for blood is constant and only volunteer donors can fulfill that need for patients in our community. Nationwide, someone needs a unit of blood every 2 to 3 seconds and most of us will need blood in our lifetime.
Thank you for supporting the American Red Cross blood program!

Interfaith Community and the American Red Cross are hosting an upcoming blood drive. 
Please join our lifesaving mission and schedule an appointment today!

Drive Details:
Site:  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Hayward
Address:  26101 Gading Rd, Hayward, CA, 94544
Room Name:  Multi Purpose Room
Date:  Fri Apr 22, 2022
Time:  11:30 AM – 3:30: PM
Blood Program Leader Name:  Interfaith Community
Click here to make an appointment

Support refugees and asylum seekers from Ukraine through HIAS.

~ trivalleyculturaljews ~ Leave a comment

HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) is closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine and neighboring countries and is responding with emergency humanitarian assistance to those who are displaced.

A HIAS response team was in Poland and is now in Ukraine assessing ways it can assist Ukrainians — both Jews and others — as they cross into Poland and other neighboring countries. 

HIAS Ukraine Crisis Answers to Frequently Asked Questions – March 16

There is much concern for the safety of the 162 staff of HIAS’ long-time partner on the ground in Ukraine, Right to Protection (R2P), who have aided refugees and displaced persons since 2013. HIAS has rushed emergency funding to R2P to assist their response. R2P is an independent NGO based in Kyiv with offices across Ukraine, including in government-controlled areas of Donbas, East Ukraine. R2P specialists work in 10 cities providing legal assistance, monitoring and advocating for internally displaced people (IDPs); refugees; asylum seekers; and stateless persons. 

The UN Refugee Agency reports that more than 3 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the war began. UNHCR estimates that in Ukraine there were already at least 1.6 million conflict-affected persons, including 734,000 internally displaced people; nearly 36,000 stateless persons; and nearly 5,000 refugees and asylum seekers.

Learn more here

Women’s History Virtual Havdalah

~ trivalleyculturaljews ~ Leave a comment

Women: more than just wombs with legs! Join us on Zoom on March 19th for a Havdalah in honor of Women’s History. Think of a woman who’s notable for more than her uterus. We’ll have a short Secular, Humanistic ceremony followed by a few rounds of 20 Questions where we’ll all try to guess your Woman of Note. Who knows what we’ll ask, so be prepared!

Day: March 19

Time: 7:00p.m.

Place: Zoom  

Cost:  Free to members, $10.00 suggested donation for non-members. Questions? Contact us at culturaljews@gmail.com or call 925-399-8029.

JCS Happenings

~ trivalleyculturaljews ~ Leave a comment

We cWe covered so much ground in JCS! We talked about the migration of Jews from Eastern Europe to the U.S. and what it was like to go through Ellis Island. The Jews leaving Eastern Europe were looking for a safe place to live. We tied that into our upcoming celebration of Purim—our yearly holiday reminding us that tyrants have always existed and that there is always a need to speak truth to power. We made food that immigrants might have enjoyed—soft pretzels with optional yellow mustard (yum!)–and played some games their kids probably knew: hopscotch and Shimon Zogt (Simmon Says in Yiddish). 

TVCJ Rabbi Judith Seid Signed the Rabbis for Repro Pledge

~ trivalleyculturaljews ~ Leave a comment

We’re proud that the Secular Humanistic movement has always supported the right to bodily autonomy and that our rabbi has signed on to this effort.

We must not remain idle while barriers to health care place any individual’s health, well-being, autonomy, or economic security at risk. And rabbis can help lead the fight for reproductive health, rights, and justice by educating their communities.

Will you join us and take the pledge to speak about reproductive rights in your rabbinic capacity this year?
The pledge can be found here.

How Is Social Justice Related To Humanism?

~ trivalleyculturaljews ~ Leave a comment

Tuesday, February 22
Nadya Dutchin, the new executive director of the American Humanist Association, details the relationship between humanism and social justice. Building on the rich legacy of the humanist movement, we ensure the next generation of humanists have a powerful, active network that demands policies to ensure that safety, dignity, justice, equality, and agency are equally accessible to all people.

RSVP Today!