How to Help at the Holidays
- December 25th Soup Kitchen Lunch
- December 24th Dinner for the Homeless
- Volunteer to stay overnight on December 24th at the shelter at Shaari Emeth
- Holiday gifts for the neediest in our community including The Miracle Menorah (by December 13th)
- Cookie Baking for local nursing home
- Make a donation to help house a homeless man
- and More…
December 25th Lunch at the Soup Kitchen in Freehold
Donations of food, monetary donations to help off-set costs, as well as helping hands to help serve a holiday lunch at the Soup Kitchen are needed to help with this annual event, during which we help to feed as many as 150 people in the Freehold area who are homeless and food insecure. If you cannot volunteer, please consider making donations of food or monetary donations - they are very much needed and greatly appreciated. We need the following items and we have set up an electronic Sign-Up form at this link to track donations.
Donations to be dropped off in the Temple kitchen on December 19th and 20th:
- 12 frozen Turkeys.
- 100 pieces of whole fresh fruit (Apples, Bananas and Oranges).
- 6 nut-free pies or cakes.·
- 14 batches of nut-free holiday cookies, festively wrapped and sealed into individual servings.
Please do not drop off donations before December 19th to ensure the food stays fresh.
Monetary donations are needed and very welcome to help offset the cost of food and supplies. If you wish to make a monetary donation, please send by check to the Temple and write “Soup Kitchen” in the memo or click here to donate online.
Volunteers:
Approximately 20 volunteers are needed to help set-up, serve and clean-up on Christmas Day at the Soup Kitchen. Volunteer shifts are based on the below schedule. Volunteers are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, and are only accepted via email to Tricia Krietzberg (put “Soup Kitchen” in the subject line.)
First Shift: 8:30 am - 10:00 am
Second Shift: 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Third Shift: 11:15 am - 12:30 pm
Fourth Shift: 12:15 pm - 1:30 pm
All volunteer spots are filled in the order in which they are received. You may request a particular time slot, but those requests cannot be guaranteed. We apologize that volunteer space is limited but if we do not have space for you at the Soup Kitchen please consider the following additional opportunities where need is also great.
December 24th Dinner and December 25th Breakfast for the Homeless Shelter
Join together with your friends or family and sign-up to make and serve a special Christmas Eve dinner for the 12 homeless men whom we host as part of the Freehold Clergy Association Emergency Housing and Advocacy Program. You can truly make a difference in the lives of these men as you help them forget about the difficulty of their situations while celebrating their holiday.
Volunteers will meet at the Temple at 5:00pm. When you sign up we will ask you to bring some of the items needed for dinner. Dinner and cleanup should be over at approximately 9:00pm. To join us, please send an email to Michael Holzer no later than December 17th. Space is limited.
Holiday Gifts – Coat Drive, etc.
In addition to our Miracle Menorah, for which we help make the holiday brighter for local children in need, there are a few other gifts you can provide to help:
- Gift cards in any amount to Target stores to help offset the costs to provide new coats for the homeless and food insecure patrons of Open Door Food Pantry. These donations are due Thursday, December 8th. Please place them in the donation box in the Temple foyer, or email Tricia Krietzberg at with questions.
- Consider purchasing a small holiday gift for the homeless men who we shelter each Saturday evening at Shaari Emeth. Below are some suggestions. Please drop-off donations in the drop-off box in the Temple lobby, or email Michael Holzer for more information.
- Phone Charger Battery Backupo
- $10 Gift cards to CVS or Target
- $10 Gift cards to Dunkin, McDonalds, Starbucks, Subway, etc.
- Miracle Menorah. Pick a gift tag off the Miracle Menorah and return a wrapped gift.
Cookie Baking
10:00 a.m. December 25th at Temple Shaari Emeth, come bake cookies for residents of a local nursing home. We will decorate and bake sugar cookies, make cards and then package the cookies for delivery to a local nursing home. There is no limitation on participants, but RSVP by clicking here, required by 12/21.
If you sign up to bake with us, information regarding delivery will be e-mailed to you. All ages welcome. Children must be accompanied by an adult. If you are able to bring a cookie sheet for baking, please let Rabbi Panken know. Thank you in advance. For more information contact Rabbi Panken .
Make a donation to help house a homeless man
In 2004 volunteers at the Open Door food pantry, along with area congregations, began providing a winter emergency shelter program. Thirteen years later Temple Shaari Emeth continues to host twelve men each Saturday during the cold winter months of December through March. The Emergency Housing and Advocacy Program (EHAP) has grown to include advocacy services for these men so they can find permanent housing and make a better life for themselves. Though food and shelter are all donated, there are costs associated with the operation of this program. We are collecting donations to cover the costs of such items cots, pillows, blankets, and insurance. The program relies heavily on donations from people in the community so please consider making a donation to keep someone warm and safe this winter. You can make your tax deductible donation online at www.ehapinc.org or you can mail your check to: Emergency Housing & Advocacy Program, PO Box 7007, Freehold, NJ 07728.
