From Oct. 26 to Dec. 5, the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) and its Bohm Social Justice Initiative will sponsor an outerwear drive to benefit refugees recently relocated to the St. Louis area. Items donated will be donated to the International Institute of Saint Louis.  Items can be dropped off at any of the following locations:

• JCRC, 12 Millstone Campus Drive

• Jewish Community Center, both locations

• Bais Abraham Congregation, 6910 Delmar Boulevard

• Central Reform Congregation, 5020 Waterman Boulevard

• Congregation B’nai Amoona, 324 S. Mason Road

• Congregation Shaare Emeth, 11645 Ladue Road

• Kol Rinah, 829 N. Hanley Road

• Temple Emanuel, 12166 Conway Road

• Temple Israel, 1 Alvan Rubin Drive 

• Traditional Congregation, 12437 Ladue Road

• United Hebrew Congregation, 13788 Conway Road.

The outerwear drive is being held in cooperation with Jewish Social Action Network, a collaboration of  St. Louis Jewish congregations, coordinated by JCRC. Chairing the outerwear drive this year are Bev Fogelman of  B’nai Amoona and Robyn DeMott of Temple Emanuel. 

New this year, the drive will accept donations of boots and closed toe shoes, in addition to coats, gloves, hats and scarves.

The outerwear drive is one of the events sponsored by JCRC and its Bohm Social Justice Initiative to celebrate Cheshvan as Jewish Social Action Month, a global Jewish community initiative promote social action to improve ourselves (tikkun pnimi) and to improve the world (tikkun olam).  Cheshvan is a month in which there are no Jewish holidays, and the initiative was created as a way to turn what might otherwise be seen as a “bitter” month into a month of positive actions to help others.