Local relief efforts continue for Hurricane Katrina victims

Synagogues and religious schools are still taking up the challenge of tikun olam for victims of Hurricane Katrina through numerous projects.

• United Jewish Communities of MetroWest New Jersey is accepting contributions for hurricane relief. Donors can visit www.ujfmetrowest.org, which offers a link to a secure browser and other suggestions for giving assistance. (UJC MetroWest has raised $225,000 in hurricane relief as of Sept. 9; additional funds continue to come in.)

• Beth El in South Orange (973-763-0111) is assembling a list of housing options. Those willing to provide temporary housing are asked to send information about the number of people they can take for a minimum of 60 days to Danny Dunn at dandy1025@aol.com and register at www.hurricanehousing.com.

• The Lautenberg Family JCC of Greater Morris in Whippany (973-929-2932) will host a Fall Fitness Marathon on Sunday, Sept. 18, 8:45-10:45 a.m., where donations will be collected for hurricane victims.

• Congregation Beth Torah in Florham Park (973-377-6020) has committed to collecting at least 100 toiletry kits — half-gallon baggies packed with a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, deodorant, and wet wipes. Products should be full-size, not sample-size.

• Students at the Bohrer-Kaufman Hebrew Academy of Morris County in Randolph (973-267-0607) aim to collect 500 sets of full-size toiletries. Donations — toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, deodorant, wet wipes, and gallon-size zipper plastic bags — will be accepted until Sept. 23, when they will be packaged by students and shipped. All are welcome to contribute.

• Temple Shalom in Succasunna (973-584-5666) will be the drop-off site for Morris County synagogues for donations until Sept. 18. Items requested include new sheets, towels, pillows, blankets, non-perishable foods that are easy to store and distribute (granola bars, peanut butter crackers, jelly), ready-made meals, dry soups, cereal, pasta, baby food in non-glass containers, canned food, and personal hygiene products (no sample sizes) of diapers, toothbrushes and toothpaste, soap, shampoo, shaving supplies, hair brushes, deodorant, tissues, and toilet paper.

• JCC Camp Deeny Riback and the Young Leadership Division of UJC MetroWest will host an open house at the camp in Flanders on Sunday, Oct. 2, from 1 to 4 p.m. The event will feature a barbecue lunch and a family fun day with arts and crafts and sports. Participants are asked to bring donations of school supplies and/or clothing, which will be packaged and shipped. Collection boxes will also be set up at the Whippany and West Orange JCCs until Sept. 28. For further information, call 973-929-3045 or e-mail aschapira@ujcnj.org.

• Cafe Serene (55 E. Mount Pleasant Ave., Livingston, 973-994-2300) will hold a benefit to aid hurricane victims as part of a nationwide Dine for America campaign on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Thirty percent of the day’s sales will go to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

• Ten-year-old Allison Edelstein and her six-year-old sister, Gayle — religious-school students at Temple Emanu-El of West Essex in Livingston — have initiated a Bracelets of Hope project. They have organized other students to make the beaded bracelets, which they will sell on Sept. 18 at the temple’s Family Fun Day.

• The Lake Hopatcong Jewish Center held a 50-50 raffle that ended on Labor Day. When it became evident how widespread the devastation was along the Gulf Coast, the synagogue donated its share — over $500 — to hurricane victims.

• The nursery school at the Leon & Toby Cooperman JCC, Ross Family Campus, West Orange, raised more than $600 for hurricane victims through a Shabbat tzedaka project.

Other suggestions for giving include:

• Call the American Red Cross 1-800-HELP NOW.

• Explore www.NVOAD.org, the homepage for National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters.

• Medical personnel wishing to donate their services should contact the Surgeon General’s Hurricane Katrina Medical Line, 1-866-528-6334.

• Those interested in hosting displaced families should visit www.moveon.org (home page) or its special page, www.hurricanehousing.org. In addition, Jewishhurricanerelief.com, under the auspices of Chabad, will match people anywhere with special concern for Jewish issues.

For those wishing to help the estimated 50,000 pets abandoned or displaced by the hurricane, Montclair veterinarian Dr. Faith Krausman suggests visiting the following Web sites, which accept donations of money and supplies and offer the opportunity to foster some of the animals: The American Kennel Club (www.akc.org), Animal Disaster Relief and Response Fund through the American Veterinary Medical Association (www.avmf.org), Katrina Found Pets (katrinafoundpets.com), or the Katrina Pets Need Help clearinghouse of additional Web sites and information (katrinapetsneedhelp.com).

— RON KAPLAN