COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

Community Highlights for June-July 2020

 By Daniel Keren

JCCMP and Other Local Organizations

Join to Help Those Affected by COVID-19

Times are very tough for so many families now and getting even tighter as we have been out of work for several weeks. The JCC of Marine Park is working together with other local non-profit organizations to assist members of our community to hold on until the economic and medical dangers dissipate which we hope will be sooner than later.

Currently the JCC in conjunction with Yeshiva Ohr Shraga will be offering lunches to families at no charge. Lunch will be available Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays (pickup is for that day and the next) from 11:30 – 1:00 PM at 4205 Ave P. We ask that only one member of your family come to pick up the meals and he/she to be wearing gloves and a mask. 

Contact the Flatbush Community Food for emergency grocery assistance. Applicable only to those
affected by COVID-19  https://fcfund.org/  

The Hebrew Free Loan Society is offering up to $5,000 interest free loans to residents of NYC affected by COVID-19. Restrictions apply. Click the link below to learn more. https://hfls.org/loan-programs/coronavirusfinancialimpactloan/  

Those needing help to file for unemployment can call 718-377-2900. Free computer and business courses 
The JCC is offering several courses to help you increase your business. Quick book, social media and webinars. sign up at jccmp.org

Grocery Volunteers (food and pharmacy)
If you are unable to leave your home to pick up essentials, volunteers are there to help. Please contact  https://invisiblehandsdeliver.org/

Apply for PPP loan or SBA Economic disaster loan. Cross River Bank is helping small businesses apply for SBA and PPP loan https://sbaapply.crossriversba.com/#/start/

For an updated list of resources for those severely affected by COVID-19, please click the website jccmp and then at the top of the home page click on the left COVID-19.

Flatbush Mourns the Petirah off

Rav Shmuel HaKohen  Miller, zt”l

Hundreds of former talmidim living in Flatbush and throughout the Jewish world were saddened by the recent petirah of Rav Hagaon Shmuel HaKohen Miller, zt”l and his devoted Rebbetzin Miriam to the current megefah of the Coronavirus. The son of the legendary Rav Avigdor Miller, zt”l, Rav Shmuel learned at Yeshivas Rabbi Chaim Berlin in Brooklyn, Bais Medrash Gavoha under Rav Aharon Kotler in Lakewood and the Brisk Yeshiva under Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik in Yerushalayim. He served as a Maggid Shiur at the Yeshiva of Eastern Parkway before establishing with his father the Yeshiva Gedola Bais Yisroel, first in Flatbush and now in Lakewood. May his family be comforted amongst the mourners of Tzion and the gates of Yerushalayim.

MET COUNCIL Hiring People to

Help Community in Aftermath of Coronavirus

In the aftermath of the Coronavirus, Met Council, America’s largest Jewish tzedakah is searching for exceptional people to work in the crisis  call center, as Coronavirus resource navigators, administrators of kosher food warehouses, coordinators of emergency food programs and directors of grant writing. The Met Council also offer help to Holocaust survivors who are unable to leave their homes to shop for food, or individuals who because of lost jobs or income can’t afford to get food, seniors with limited income who need emergency home repairs or victims of domestic violence. For more details please call (929) 292-9261.

Flatbush Community Fund Helps 850

Families During Corona Virus

More than 850 familes struggling to make ends as a result of the sudden overnight economic catastrophe wrought by the stunning Coronavirus that has turned the world upside down have been aided by the Flatbush Community Fund that had raised $1.6 million dollars. In addition the FCF has created a $2 million gemach to distribute interest free loans to members of our community and have recruited 400 volunteers to deliver both groceries and medication to those unable to leave their homes as well as stocking a food pantry to distribute food to a thousand people.

The Jewish World Mourns the Loss

Of Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm, Zt”l

The recent passing of Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm, former President, Rosh Hayeshiva and Chancellor of Yeshiva University is mourned by the Jewish world. Born 92 years ago in Brooklyn where he studied in the elementary and high school division of Yeshiva and Mesivta Torah Vodaath, he then went on to study in Yeshiva College where he learned both a liberal arts and chemistry and graduated summa cum laude and was class valedictorian. He pursued advanced scientific classes at Polytechnic Institute while simultaneously pursing religious studies at Yeshiva University’s RIET where he gained smicha and a PhD in Jewish philosophy from YU’s Bernard Revel Graduate School. He served on the YU faculty for 17 years prior to becoming the University’s third president in 1976 and retired as Chancellor of the Yeshiva in 2013. He influenced and inspired thousands of students during his years of service to YU. May his memory continue to serve as a blessing for those who were fortunate to know him.

Hakhel Legal Day Yarchei Kallah

Goes Virtual Worldwide

For more than 20 years, Hakhel, a Flatbush-based organization dedicated to promoting a greater awareness in our community of Torah-true values has taken advantage of legal holidays when many people are off from work to organize half-day Yarchei Kallah events for both men and women free of charge at the Agudath Israel of Madison (Rabbi Yisroel Reisman’s Shul). These events typically attract hundreds of participants who gain chizuk from both hashkafah and halachic lectures. This past Memorial Day attendance was closed to the public but with the help of TorahAnyTime, four lectures (by Rabbi Yisroel Reisman, Rabbi Yosef Viener, Rabbi Moshe Tuvia Lieff and Rabbi Fischel Schachter) were broadcast live to thousands of Jews around the world. One can still access those inspiring lectures by clicking Torahanytime and then clicking Organizations and then clicking Hakhel.