Volunteer Opportunities

Compassion is at the heart of our community—kindness to those who suffer and grieve, as well as joy with those who celebrate. Our Caring Community provides helping hands for congregants facing some of the most challenging moments in life. On this page are listed several volunteer opportunities, but we have many more ways you can volunteer. Contact Drew Barkley at Drew@ TempleSinaiPGH.org or (412) 421-9715 ext. 111 to learn more.

Caring Connection
Holidays and Life Cycle events—the days by which we measure a year and a lifetime. Temple Sinai congregants are dedicated to being there on those special or sad days. We deliver a Shabbat caring bag each week to families with new babies, our recently converted, those who just suffered a loss, and to welcome our new members. Once a year, we gather as a community to cook and bake. We fill the freezers for Oneg Shabbats and with food that clergy can deliver to those in need. To volunteer to prepare or deliver Caring Bags, contact Louise Malakoff at lmalakoff@comcast.net. To volunteer to cook or bake, contact Mara Kaplan at maratkaplan@gmail.com. 

disAbility Task Force
For the last several years, the disAbility Task Force has been telling stories through Beit Midrash on Yom Kippur, from the pulpit on Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance, and Inclusion Month Shabbat, at comedy nights, and Moth-like story slams. Temple Sinai is known locally and nationally as an exemplary congregation for our work on inclusion. Yes, we made a ramp to the rose garden and hung a mezuzah that is reachable to young children and those who use a wheelchair, but it was the stories that changed us. Contact Mara Kaplan at maratkaplan@gmail.com or Lisa Lederer at lisaglederer@gmail.com for more information.

East End Cooperative Ministry (EECM)
Help us fulfill Tikkun Olam at the EECM Community House Temple Sinai cooks and serves dinner to about 50 people at the EECM Community House in East Liberty on the second Thursday of each month. Please volunteer to cook and/or serve by contacting Bob Kraut at robert.kraut@cmu.edu or Steve Jurman at jurmanlaw@ gmail.com.

Greeters

Our greeters are some of the first faces congregants, visitors, and prospective members see when  they enter our building. They set a welcoming tone for our community. If you would like to be a greeter for Shabbat services, B’nei Mitzvah, High  Holy Day services, or special events, contact Nora Arndt at Nora@TempleSinaiPGH.org or (412) 421-9715 ext. 110. 

Shiva Support 
No one should mourn alone. At every Shiva Minyan, we are there taking coats, putting out food, passing out prayerbooks, praying, whatever the family needs to have happen. Sometimes volunteers do a lot, and sometimes we only participate in the minyan. We never leave the mourners’ house without letting them call us if they need anything. In the past, we had a group of volunteers who led the Shiva service when a clergy wasn’t available; we will be restarting this group. If you are interested in joining our Shiva Support Team, contact Mara Kaplan at maratkaplan@gmail.com.

Tikkun Olam Center 
The vision of the Tikkun Olam Center (TOC) is to inspire and empower every member of the Temple Sinai community to take deliberate action to repair the world and build a just society. Over the years, the TOC has taken on both direct service initiatives (such as cooking and serving dinners for the East End Cooperative Minis-try) and advocacy work (such as the push for civic engagement and 100% voter turnout in the 2020 election). In the years ahead, the TOC seeks to foster stronger, deeper relationships  between members of our community to energize and motivate our tikkun olam work. The TOC is excited to  build strategic support for initiatives to build a more just world! For more information, contact Drew Barkley at Drew@TempleSinaiPGH.org.

Vegetable Garden
Our accessible vegetable garden helps those with food insecurity in our community only with the help  of volunteers. Join us! Horticulturalist Rachel Kudrick will be on hand to direct the work and teach volunteers what is need to get the garden going. All ages are welcome!  Contact Drew Barkley at Drew@TempleSinaiPGH.org or (412) 421-9715 ext. 111 with questions or to be added to the group email list.