OT's Social Action program is committed to tikkun olam (repairing the world) and projects are done throughout the year to benefit our community.

On This Page:

Toy Drive | Special Projects | Ongoing Initiatives | Interfaith

Special Projects

Please contact Social Action Chair Clare Bachner to confirm which projects are currently operating.

Summer | Fall | Winter | Spring

Summer

Gleaning at Farmers' Markets

Join the OT Gleaners!  On Sundays from May-October, from 12-2:30pm, OT volunteers glean food from West End Farmers Market (4800 Brenman Park Dr, Alexandria, VA 22304) and then transport fresh vegetables and fruits to the Food For Others (2938 Prosperity Ave, Fairfax, VA 22031) where people are given fresh fruits and vegetables that they would not otherwise be able to have. Click here to read about OT's gleaning program in the Washington Jewish Week. For more information or to volunteer, contact Felic Berkowitz: Felice.Berkowitz@gmail.com, 703-855-6086.

Fall 

Kol Nidre Food Drive for ECHO

Monday, August 25 - Wednesday, October 1, in the Main Lobby.

Donate throughout the month of Elul until Kol Nidre! This food drive supports Ecumenical Community Helping Others (ECHO), which provides temporary and emergency assistance, including food, clothing, household items, transportation and financial support to about 1,000 families every year.

*Please keep in mind that the recipients are usually transient and do not have the ability to store bulk-size items.

Delivery of  Food Baskets to Holocaust Survivors 

We are partnering with JSSA to deliver Rosh Hashanah and Passover baskets to Holocaust survivors in Northern Virginia. If you can help with this mitzvah, please contact Social Action member, Judy Gabel. Volunteers are needed to deliver bags of non-perishable items to Holocaust survivors in the Northern Virginia area.The survivors are not from concentration camps, but are from Russia and Ukraine, and had difficulty entering the safety of the U.S. after World Ward II. JSSA continues to help these aging immigrants and let them know, most importantly, that they are not forgotten on this lovely holiday.

Blood Drives

Each winter and spring, we sponsor an INOVA blood drive to help the community. Please take part in this wonderful mitzvah at our synagogue and help support the constant need for blood donations. Requirements: Weigh 110 lbs, be in good health, be 17 years of age (16 with parental consent form completed), be at least 56 days since your last whole blood donation. Olam Tikvah's sponsor code is 3124. You can give at select INOVA blood donation centers. To learn more, contact Lori Zobler.

The upcoming blood drive will be on Sunday December 7. More information here.

Winter

In this season of thanksgiving, we are thankful for all we have and look for ways to give back to our community. Join us in participating in our many Social Action projects throughout the season to bring joy to others.

Committee for Helping Others (CHO) annual holiday "Toy Store"

Wednesday, October 29- December 4, 2025. CHO's approach is to collect new, unwrapped toys and deliver them to the First Presbyterian Church in Vienna in the beginning of December. The parents who are referred to CHO by Virginia Social Services receive a toy voucher for each of their children. We will once again have our own toy box, just outside the Youth Wing. Check out the CHO website for ideas about what types of toys are on their wishlist! We also accept $25 gift certificates donations, which can be dropped off at the office. 

Donations for the Katherine Hanley Family Shelter

Starting Friday, December 5th, 2025 through Sunday, December 21st, 2025- Help us support the residents of the Katherine Hanley Family Shelter this winter by donating any of the following items: NEW stuffed animals; NEW socks for men, women and children (regular or warm and fuzzy); and/or $25 gift cards to grocery stores or Target/Walmart. Donations may be left in the main lobby bench.

Shoeboxes for So Others Might Eat (SOME)

Donate between Monday, December 1 - Wednesday December 10, 2025. Help provide Christmas gifts to the homeless by packing a shoebox with necessities to donate to SOME (So Others Might Eat), an interfaith community organization helping the poor and homeless in DC.

Each box should include: 1 hat, 1 pair of gloves, 1 scarf, 1 pair of socks, 1 pair of underwear, 1 deodorant, 1 soap, 1 shampoo, 1 lotion, 1 toothbrush, 1 toothpaste. For men and women, please also include 2 razors, and for women 5 sanitary napkins and/or tampons. For children, please include 1 small toy or gift. Please wrap the lid and box separately and label each box MAN, WOMAN, BOY or GIRL.

Katherine Hanley Christmas Brunch

For the 18th year, Olam Tikvah will provide a warm, homemade Christmas breakfast for the families staying at the Katherine Hanley Family Shelter on Christmas morning! If you would like to help, you can prepare quiches, casseroles or other homemade goods at your home and coordinate delivery with Mimi Krauss. Please sign up directly on this link.

Hypothermia Project

January 11th through January 18th, 2026. For the past several years, local churches in Fairfax County under the direction of F.A.C.E.T.S. (Fairfax Assistance Community Emergency Transit Services) take turns housing people who are homeless in their church for a week. They provide overnight shelter and meals throughout the winter season from November to mid-March. Olam Tikvah and the Pozez JCC have partnered with Bethlehem Lutheran Church (8822 Little River Turnpike, Fairfax) to support FACETS' Hypothermia Prevention Program. We will have many opportunities for volunteers to help prior and during the hypothermia week.

Food For Others/Power Pack Program (P3)

Food For Others is a local non-profit food bank and food rescue operation serving Fairfax and Arlington Counties. The Power Pack Program provides elementary school students experiencing food insecurity in our area with a pack of food that they can eat at home over the weekend. When we have the Power Pack drive, please drop off any of the following items in the donation bench in the main lobby:

• Mac & Cheese cups,
• Tuna/Chicken Salad kits with crackers,
• Pasta cups,
• Chef Boyardee microwave cups, etc.,
• 100% Fruit juice boxes or Capri Sun juice pouches,
• Shelf stable milk
• Please: no glass containers

To make a monetary contribution to the Power Pack Program to help us buy items to complete each pack, contact the OT office or send a check to Olam Tikvah with Power Pack in the memo line.

Valentine's Day Party 

OT congregants provide an activity-filled party for the children residing at the Katherine Hanley Family Shelter. To volunteer, contact Mimi Krauss.

Spring

Chametz Food Drive

Each year before Passover, OT congregants donate their unopened chametz to ECHO, our local food bank that is always in need of donated food boxes and cans.

Good Deeds Day 

Each year at Congregation Olam Tikvah, our congregants and volunteers from Social Action, Men’s Club, Sisterhood, Religious School, Preschool, and youth groups participate in the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington's Sara & Samuel J. Lessans Good Deeds Day. We work on projects that help those in need in our community. In the past our projects included Social Action providing person personal care items (body wash, shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, and disposable razors etc.) for the Hanley Family Shelter, Sisterhood knitting for the Linus Project, Men’s Club distribution of Yom HaShoah candles, and the preschool providing diapers for babies at Katherine Hanley Family Shelter. Click here to learn more about last year's projects.

Delivery of Food Baskets to Holocaust Survivors 

We are partnering with JSSA to deliver Passover baskets to Holocaust survivors in Northern Virginia. If you can help with this mitzvah, please contact Social Action member, Judy Gabel. Volunteers are needed to deliver bags of non-perishable items to Holocaust survivors in the Northern Virginia area.The survivors are not from concentration camps, but are from Russia and Ukraine, and had difficulty entering the safety of the U.S. after World Ward II. JSSA continues to help these aging immigrants and let them know, most importantly, that they are not forgotten on this lovely holiday. Each bag includes things like matzo, wine, matzo meal, and a few other items that will fit in one grocery bag for each recipient.

Ongoing Social Action Outreach

Please contact Social Action Chair Clare Bachner to confirm which projects are currently operating.

Interfaith Communities for Dialogue

Interfaith Communities for Dialogue (ICD) of which Olam Tikvah is a founding member, is a network of faith-based and associated organizations that promotes mutual understanding and positive relationships among diverse people in and around Fairfax County. It does this through education, engagement, and mutual support based on shared values of inclusiveness, integrity, equity, mutual respect, and trust of ALL people.  ICD conducts public dialogues on a variety of complex societal issues, viewed through both secular and faith lenses, to expand knowledge and encourage respectful sharing of views. Working through ICD, interfaith teams also engage in service projects, organize social gatherings, and encourage efforts to instill familiarity with the tenets and practices of other faiths. For more information and to view video recordings of past dialogues, visit the ICD website (www.interfaithfairfax.org) or contact one of Olam Tikvah’s representatives on the ICD Board: Judith Shamir (yudsha285@gmail.com) and Jim Finkel (jfinkel25@gmail.com).

FALL / Spring - Citizenship Class

“The program helps lawful permanent residents, i.e., "green card" holders, prepare for the US government naturalization interview to become American citizens. The curriculum adheres closely to a textbook designed for this purpose: Citizenship: Passing the Test by Lynne Weintraub.  There are ten lessons in history and civics that are taught in 12 - 13 sessions, with orientation and reviews. Classes are online, on Zoom. The teachers are volunteers from Olam Tikvah and Lord of Life. Most students are local, but some are out of state.  Currently, there is an ongoing class with two sections, of 18 students.  For more information, please contact Ed Faggen.

Brown/Berish Jewish Group Home Jewish

Holidays are celebrated throughout the year at the Brown/Berish Group Home. The residents enjoy celebrating the holidays with services, activities, and food.

Tuna Casseroles for Embry Rucker Shelter

Every month, synagogue members prepare and deliver tuna casseroles to the Embry Rucker Shelter in Reston. The Embry Rucker Community Shelter (ERCS) is a 70-bed residential shelter that provides healthy, safe, emergency housing for individuals and families. To learn more, contact casserole coordinator Carol Shaman.