Women of Reform JudaismPacific District
  • Home
    • President's Message
    • Pacific District Statements
    • Tributes
  • About Us
    • Mission Statement
    • History >
      • Camp Newman 2017 Bucket Brigade
      • Jane Marcus Social Justice Fund
    • FAQ
    • Officers / Area Directors/Committees
    • VP & Departments >
      • Organizational Chart
    • Job Descriptions
    • Past Presidents
    • Social Action >
      • Social Action Rings
      • Mental Health Overview
    • WRJ YES Fund >
      • YES Fund Tea
    • Nashim Society
    • Kavod Awards
  • Resources
    • District Dues
    • Bylaws
    • Policies and Procedures
    • Speakers Bureau >
      • Speaker Request Form
      • Speakers Bureau Guidelines
      • Sisterhood's Evaluation
      • Speaker's Evaluation
    • Zoom Request Form
    • District Scholarships
    • Reimbursement Voucher
    • District Logo
    • PD Board Nominations
    • Style Guide
    • WRJ Acronyms
    • Useful Links
  • Sisterhoods
    • Sisterhood Leadership Contact Update Form
    • New Sisterhood President Guide
    • Yammer
    • Sisterhood Board Training
    • Find a Sisterhood
    • Sisterhood Resources >
      • Fundraiser Ideas
      • Icebreakers
      • 2015 PD Passover Recipes
  • Area Events
    • WRJ Covid-19 Covenant Of Care
    • 2021 All District Area Event
    • Pacific Northwest Area Events
    • Northern California Area Events
    • Southern California Area Events
    • Pacific Southwest Area Events
    • Area Event Planning Guide
  • PD Conventions
    • WRJ Covid-19 Covenant Of Care
    • 2020 PD Convention >
      • Special Guests
      • Social Action Project
    • Past Pacific District Conventions >
      • 2018 PD Convention
      • 2016 PD Convention
  • Programs
    • WRJ PD Cookbook
    • Sisterhood Program Exchange >
      • Social Programs
      • Community Service Programs
      • Fundraisers
      • Combo Programs
      • Virtual Programs
      • In-Person Programs
      • Hybrid Programs
    • WRJ & PD Award Winners >
      • 2020 Kavod Award Winners
      • 2018 Kavod Award Winners
      • 2016 Kavod Award Winners
      • PD 2015 Or Ami Winners
      • 2014 Kavod Award Winners
      • PD 2013 Or Ami Winners
      • 2012 Kavod Award Winners
      • PD 2009 Or Ami Winners
    • The Bubbe Project
    • A Place Called Home: The Senior Homelessness Project
    • Empty Bowls, Hungry Children
    • Charoses Around the World
  • Pacific District Store
    • PD Cookbook
    • Clothing
    • Pins, Lanyards & Totes
  • Calendar
  • Contact Us
    • Find Us On Social Media
    • Content Submissions
    • Questions and Comments

Submit to Or Ami Awards

WRJ Women’s Groups and WRJ Districts: Share Your Programs and Projects!
 
The guidelines and application for the Or Ami Award are available to download on the WRJ website at www.wrj.org/orami. Please be sure to submit your applications as soon as you can. It is best to complete and send it in right after your program; there is no need to wait! All award-winning programs and projects will be available on the Women of Reform Judaism website and in other WRJ resources. The program ideas will be available for all WRJ-affiliated women’s groups and WRJ Districts to use, and will reflect our work together to fulfill the traditional Jewish mandate of Tikkun Olam, working towards healing our fractured world.We urge you to submit your successful programs and projects for consideration for an Or Ami Award. Bring recognition to your women’s group or WRJ District and share your special achievements with all Women of Reform Judaism! If you have any questions, please contact Amanda Feldman at 866-WRJ-5924 or 212-650-4054 or afeldman@wrj.org.
 
We look forward to receiving your submissions!

Pacific District Sisterhoods Winner of 3 Or Ami Awards

By Ellen Bick

The Or Ami “Light of My People” Award was established in 1973 by WRJ to recognize outstanding programs in social justice, community service, and education.  These projects are solicited from sisterhoods and districts all over North America with the goal for the project to serve as a model for duplication.  These awards are given every two years at the WRJ Assembly.  In Toronto, the Pacific District was distinctly honored to receive three of the five awards as winners.  There is also recognition for other submitted projects in categories of honorable mention, commendation, and special appreciation, with 59 total projects submitted.
Contact information for all 59 of these projects is available on the WRJ website: http://www.womenofreformjudaism.org/

​Here is a summary of the three award winning Or Ami projects:

WRJ/ Beth Israel Sisterhood, Portland, OR
Beth Israel Sisterhood Shabbaton: Wise-Hearted Women   
Contact: Ellen Bick ellenbick@comcast.net
The sisterhood held an erev Shabbat service, followed by a day of worship and study with Dr. Judith R. Baskin, an editor of WRJ’s new publication The Torah: A Women’s Commentary, as the scholar-in-residence.  The day was planned to enable members of the sisterhood, congregation, and community to explore the new Commentary, beginning with Torah study, morning service, and lunch with a keynote speech.  Participants also explored the sisterhood’s role as “wise-hearted” Jewish women in creating and sustaining the Jewish world.  The day included a series of afternoon workshop sessions led by local clergy and teachers that creatively responded to the Torah reading.  The day concluded with a havdalah service led by the high school youth group.  The event was open to all, and publicized extensively in the congregation, and in the Jewish and general press.  

Temple Sholom Sisterhood, Vancouver, B.C.
Dedication of 226 Copies of “The Torah: A Women’s Commentary” to Our Temple and Establishment of a New Sisterhood Program, “Rosh Chodesh Renewal”
Contact: Donna Ornstein  
Temple Sholom Sisterhood carried out an extensive promotion for purchase of The Torah, A Women’s Commentary for donation to the temple and for personal use, through flyers, bulletin articles, bima announcements, and emails, which culminated in placing an order for 226 copies.  Following receipt of the Commentary, the sisterhood developed a new Rosh Chodesh Renewal group, inviting women to study Torah together using the Women’s Commentary.

Sisterhood of Temple B’nai Torah, Bellevue, WA
To Life, The Journey of Addiction and Recovery in our Jewish Community
Contact: Shana Aucsmith  shanaauc@yahoo.com
Acting on WRJ’s 46th Assembly adoption of a resolution calling for a change in public drug abuse policy from a criminal justice to a medical/social paradigm, the B’nai Torah Sisterhood held a conference on substance abuse to increase awareness of addiction as a disease, and provide hope and information about recovery.  Partnering with Jewish Family Service of Seattle, the Sisterhood held a conference attended by about 175 professionals, lay people, and clergy.  The conference focused on addiction in the Jewish community, addiction as a disease, concurrent disorders, the impact on the family, how to access help, and recovery.
Picture
Picture
Picture
©  Women of Reform Judaism Pacific District, 2020. All rights reserved.