Caring Community

Our dedicated volunteers create a warm environment in which Mishkan Or members truly care for one another. Opportunities for meaningful multigenerational connections strengthen our bonds to each other, to our synagogue, and to the larger community. There are so many ways to get involved! If you are interested in participating in our Caring Community, please reach out to Wendy Jacobson at wjacobson@mishkanor.org for more information.  To learn more about our Mishkan Or efforts to increase composting, see further below. 

CARING COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES AT CONGREGATION MISHKAN OR 

Could you make deliveries? We always need volunteers to make deliveries! Delivery times are flexible according to your schedule. 

• Welcome Bags to new members
• Cookie boxes during shiva to members who have lost a loved one
• Hamantaschen to our oldest members on Purim 

Could you make phone calls? Members who are 80 or older, and members who have been married for 50 years or longer, receive calls with birthday or anniversary wishes. Volunteers typically make about five calls each month.  Volunteers may also be asked to make calls for occasional special projects.

Could you write notes?  Our Correspondence Committee volunteers handwrite a note to temple members who have lost a loved one, are recovering from illness, or are celebrating a happy occasion. Each volunteer usually writes one note per month and is given a suggested message for each note.   

Do you like to bake?  Volunteers of all ages gather to bake dozens of cookies that are arranged into cookie boxes. These boxes are delivered during shiva to congregants who have lost a loved one. 

Would you like to make a difference in the larger community? Mishkan Or volunteers give hands-on help to organizations in Greater Cleveland such as: 

• BigHearted Blooms  
• The Transplant House
• The Kosher Food Pantry
• The Chesed Center 
• International Newcomers Academy 
• MACE Islamic Center’s Food Pantry 
• Shoes and Clothes for Kids
• Trinity Cathedral’s Meal Program 

CARING FOR OUR LARGER COMMUNITY BY COMOPOSTING
Congregation Mishkan Or shares a concern that so many of us have – concern for our environment. We’re proud to launch a new initiative to more fully live our Jewish values of being Shomrei Adamah, Guardians of the Earth. Specifically, we will begin composting our organization’s food scraps in partnership with Rust Belt Riders, whose mission is to “feed people, not landfills.” Since 2014, this organization has been working with people and organizations in Northeast Ohio to provide an alternative to landfills for their food scraps. We are beginning to make some changes to help us manage food waste at Mishkan Or:  

Additional Receptacles and Signage  
Trash and compost receptacles will be clearly marked and placed near the Oneg tables. Our Oneg pastry trays will no longer include items individually wrapped in paper to eliminate further landfill waste.  

Compostable Paper Products  
All disposable paper products, cups, and utensils are fully compostable at our onegs, as long as they are placed in our labeled compost bin – sadly, compostable products disposed in trash bins are heading to a landfill.   

Household Service  
The partnership we are beginning will start to address the waste we create as an organization. While we are not able to accept individual congregant’s compost, you can arrange to have compost pick up at your home in some communities, or by using community drop off locations via Rust Belt Riders.  

Recycling Batteries
Congregation Mishkan Or offers a drop-off for used batteries that will be recycled. You can drop off used household batteries at our front desk during office hours.