CRJ Gift Card Drive for Temple Adat Elohim in Thousand Oaks CA for Wildfire Victims and those Impacted by the Borderline Bar and Grill Shooting

In response to the request from CRJ congregants who have been asking how we can help the efforts of Jewish communities in CA as they are consumed with the compound challenges they are facing, Congregation of Reform Judaism will be organizing a gift card drive for Temple Adat Elohim in Thousand Oaks, CA.

Here is how you can contribute:

  1. Bring to CRJ place in a collection box in one of two locations, the main office on the table outside the sanctuary.
  2. CRJ members can mail cards to the office, CRJ c/o Thousand Oaks 928 Malone Drive, Orlando Fl 32810
  3. You can make a monetary donation online

Thank you for your support!

From the staff at Temple Adat Elohim:

At this point, what is most useful are gift cards for places like Target, or groceries, or gasoline. People are needing to replace EVERYTHING, and having help with some of this seems to lift the burden many are feeling. We have, in the direct area of our synagogue, 6 homes that were burned to the ground. These are not temple members. Because of our relationship with our neighbors, we want to help them as well, and these gift cards will go a long way. Please extend our thanks, on behalf of our entire community, to those who want to help, and those who are praying for and with us during this crisis. The saddest part, beyond the loss of homes, is that we haven’t been able to even begin to deal with the tragic shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill, located a mile from our temple. We do have a lot of work to do…

We know of families of Borderline victims who were evacuated not 12 hours after they learned the fate of their son or daughter. We had 2 congregants in the club when the shooting happened, thankfully they both got out safely, but are forever impacted by this.

We are out of our synagogue campus for the next couple of weeks at least while the clean up and repairs take place. Thankfully we did not suffer structural damage, only smoke and ash infiltration

Thank you so much, these acts of kindness are really helping our community to find some peace in these crazy times.