Students from Tucson Hebrew High and six religious schools are participating in the “613 Coins and Counting!” campaign to raise funds for LEAF, the Local Emergency Assistance Fund, which helps local Jewish families in need with housing costs, food, job placement and more. Their efforts, which began Jan. 9, will conclude with the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Super Sunday phone-a-thon on Jan. 30.
The Council of Jewish Education Directors developed a special tzedakah curriculum that includes stories on how LEAF has positively impacted Tucson community members. CEDS provided each school with a collection box. Each school will also receive a leaf on the Federation’s Tzedakah Tree. The religious schools of Congregations Anshei Israel, Or Chadash, Bet Shalom, Chaverim and Kol Simchah, Temple Emanu-El and Tucson Hebrew High are participating.
“The Federation is such a big part of our Jewish community and, as beneficiaries of their work, the synagogues and religious schools want to show support of their efforts on Super Sunday on behalf of our community,” explains Rina Liebeskind, CEDs chairperson and Congregation Or Chadash education director. “This project is two-fold: we are both showing our support of the Jewish Federation and preparing the next generation to continue to care for Jews here in Tucson and around the world, highlighting the Jewish value, , we are all united as Jews and we are truly responsible for one another.”
