Chesed Team - Making a Difference

The CMI Chesed Team is a group of congregants working with the Rabbi to help individuals and families in our congregation. The Chesed Team has two purposes:

·         To help congregants feel they belong to a caring community that provides support by meeting both practical and emotional needs.

·         To offer an opportunity for CMI members to feel connected by helping others with acts of loving kindness (“chesed” in Hebrew).

Some of the ways the Chesed Team might help: Rides to and from services.

·         Visits to those who are homebound, in a care facility or hospital, or otherwise isolated.

·         Bringing food to those who are ill, bereaved, healing from illness or injury, or at home with a new baby or sick family member.

·         Making phone calls or writing cards to those in distress.

·         Sending care packages to those away at school or in the military.

·         Taking someone to do shopping or other errands.

·         Making cards from CMI – could be a great activity for our younger members who want to be involved.

If you have other ideas of how we can help, if you know someone who needs help, or if you are interested in volunteering, please contact the office at 203-288-3877 or email Tamara at tepstein@cmihamden.org.

The Chesed Team welcomes new members. Any time you can give – whether it is an ongoing commitment or just an occasional hour or two – will make a difference. 

Below is a recent summary of the many times the Chesed Team helped our congregants in times of need. The Chesed Team chair, Nancy Horowitz, presented this information.

There was a huge increase in our activities this year.  While we had made twenty-nine trips to CMI the previous year, this year we brought people without rides to CMI 83 times.  In addition, we visited with congregants 21 times this year, compared to 12 times the previous year.  Food deliveries also increased, as did the number of people on the Chesed team who have been involved this year—15 this year compared to 8 people last year.  We made two trips to medical appointments this year, while we did this seven times last year. 

One area of service that was new this year was reaching out to congregants who had lost a family member.  After hearing from the rabbi or cantor that a family is interested in outreach from the Chesed Team, Jill Wurcel delivered challah and rugelach to 11 families this year. Amy Brin also had her religious school preschoolers make pictures for a congregant who had an accident and these were sent along with a card. Both of these endeavors were very well received and we hope to continue the deliveries and perhaps to include other religious school students in acts of Chesed like this.