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Come Home to Barnert!

Action for racial equity 2021

Take Our Pledge Banner

Join your Barnert community in our work toward racial equity.

Commit to perform at least 1 hour of service between now and the end of August!  It can be done in your home or out in the community. 

Please complete this pledge form.  Email ARC@barnerttemple.org with any questions to help get you started.

Your Information

We are asking for one pledge per household.  Please enter your name and the number of individuals in your household that this pledge represents.


I. Take our Pledge. 

Taking our pledge is simple.  Decide how many hours your household can commit.  Then read through the options below, and choose what resonates with you.  Select from any or all of the 5 categories below:

  • Purchase with Intention: Support Black-owned Businesses
  • Create Change through Intentional Relationships
  • Work for Legislation Change in NJ
  • Support Current Federal Legislative Acts 
  • Read with Intention: Diversify Your Bookshelf 

Community wide, we are aiming for 100% household participation for a total of 1,800 hours.  With about 400 Barnert family units, we can surpass this goal with 1 hour/month per household between now and August 31, 2021.


II. You Can Choose. 

There are many ways you can pledge your time.  Read through the options below.  Indicate which options you think you will choose to meet your household's pledge goal.

Purchase with Intention:
Change Our Buying Habits, and Support Black-Owned Businesses

Scroll down for descriptions.

Black-Owned Farms and CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture)

Free Haven FarmsLawnside NJ. Free Haven Farm, one of the only Black-owned farms in the state, got its name because of its start as a refuge, or haven, for formerly enslaved people. Through their monthly subscription boxes, you can support their efforts year-round.  Learn about the work they do agriculturally, participate in their educational programs, and meet their inspiring community.

Rise and Root Farm, Chester NY. Rise and Root Farm engages rural and urban communities through food and farming. Starting in the spring, you can volunteer on a community farm day (usually last Saturday of the month), shop online and pick up in Union Square or in Chester, NY, and/or donate food and plants. Their current/previous affiliations include: Just Food, Farm School NYC, Ecostation:NY, Bushwick Campus Farm, Black Urban Growers, Crock and Jar, La Familia Verde Community Garden coalition, GrowNYC.  Pledge now.  Act later.

Local and/or Internet Businesses 

TJs Southern Gourmet, Englewood, (201) 608-5026  Serving the best in homemade southern favorites to the tri-state area for more than 20 years.  Make your life easier during the pandemic: take advantage of their meals-to-go subscriptions or order a single meal for delivery by GrubHub.

Marcus Bookstore (Oldest Black-owned independent bookstore)  As the nation’s oldest Black-owned independent bookstore, 60 years old, their mission is to provide opportunities for Black people and their allies to celebrate and learn about the Black experience. Marcus Books stocks an essential catalog of works including children's and young adult fiction and nonfiction, classics, bestsellers, cookbooks, ancient and contemporary history, poetry, biography and graphic novels.

Jungalow  started as a design blog, produced in a tiny, plant-filled living room in 2009. It is now a lifestyle brand and the go-to source for unique design goods and inspiration. Browse their artistic home decor and stylish gifts; a curated ensemble of colorful, modern goods from around the globe. They are also proud to offer an exclusive, rotating selection of high quality, limited edition art prints from an international group of female artists.

Adjourn Teahouse (Artisanal, hand-blended tea) This artisanal loose leaf tea company offers unique, superior quality, hand blended teas that are sustainably sourced from around the world. Tea brewing, steeping and drinking allows time to adjourn and put present tasks, worries, and stresses aside.

Partake Foods Partake products give peace of mind to those with dietary restrictions and "how is this so good?" enjoyment to everyone else.  They sell healthy, safe foods to people with sensitivities, including to food insecure families. CEO and founder Denise Woodard is committed to raising  awareness of Black and female entrepreneurship and increasing opportunities for women and people of color who seek careers in the food industry. (All foods free from top 8 allergens)


Create Change Through Intentional Relationships

Scroll down for descriptions.

Roots & Wings  Mentor an 18 - 23 year old who has aged out of foster care.  Contact Roben Hernandez at 862-294-2093 Roben.Hernandez@rootsandwingsnj.org

BPeace  Bpeace is an award-winning nonprofit that provides tailored business advice to minority/ women owned or led small businesses in crisis-affected communities. Become a "Skillanthropist" and volunteer your skills and knowledge, both on-site and remotely, to help small businesses grow, become more profitable, and secure a future for their workers and communities. Visit their website or contact Randy and randybrowning64@gmail.com

FLOW Forward Amplify voices of passionate current students and alums by visiting FLOW Forward's website, reading their document Stories of Inclusion, and signing their petition to get their Call for Action passed! FLOW Forward works to hold the Franklin Lakes, Oakland, Wyckoff district accountable to implement diversity and inclusion related curricula and activities to meet NJ state requirements. Contact them at flow.fwrd@gmail.com, or contact Barnert member Nicole McGovern directly at nmcgovern14@gmail.com.

First Friends of NJ/NY  Become a volunteer pen pal.  No training is required, and you must be at least 18 years of age.  First Friends of NJ/NY provides services to detained immigrants in the four northern facilities of New Jersey: Elizabeth Detention Center, Hudson County Correctional Center, Bergen County Jail, and Essex County Correctional Center.


Work for Legislative Change in New Jersey

Scroll down for descriptions of the conferences listed above.

New Jersey Consultation on Conscience (Sunday, May 2, 2021 via Zoom) Attend the first-ever New Jersey state-wide Consultation on Conscience, in cooperation with the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism's RAC-NJ. Speakers include Eric Ward, Rev. Charles Boyer, Karen Gaffney on May 2, 2021. Commit to a key “takeaway”  action.

"Don’t Kvetch, Organize.” Take an online community organizing class taught by JOIN for Justice and learn how to organize your community for justice.  Commit to a “takeaway” action. (Recommended by Jessie Losch an alum!) 

New Jersey Reproductive Freedom Act through the Thrive-NJ Coalition The legislator letter is at the top, then there is information about the bill, followed by a “learn more” sign up at the bottom.

Help Organize a Barnert Temple Legislator/Candidate Forum in 2021 so that our congregation can build relationships with those who represent us in Trenton.


Support Current Federal Legislative Acts

H.R.1 (For the People Act) would expand voting rights to disenfranchised groups including formerly incarcerated people, and restrict gerrymandering and vote-purging practices that target marginalized and minority populations.

HR 7120 (The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act) addresses a wide range of policies and issues regarding policing practices and law enforcement accountability. It includes measures to increase accountability for law enforcement misconduct, enhance transparency and data collection, and eliminate discriminatory policing practices

Use these easy tools to make fighting for comprehensive, urgent and necessary racial reform convenient.

Resistbot  Simply text the word “RESIST” to 50409 and Resistbot will walk you through the steps to contact your elected officials. This handy bot will turn your message into a fax, sending your message directly to the office of your legislator.

5 Calls Now  (available as an app or website) Simply put in your zip code and 5 Calls Now gives you the contact information for your elected officials and short scripts so you can make five important phone calls on five timely issues in, yes, five minutes.

Find Your NJ State Legislators

Find Your U.S. Representatives


Read With Intention: Diversify Your Bookshelf

Commit to reading books by Black authors or books about racial diversity and justice - at least one a month - to younger individuals in your family (e.g., children, grandchildren, nieces/nephews, etc.). If you purchase books, purchase with intention from a Black-owned bookstore (e.g., Marcus Bookstore).


Other Options


I/We Pledge Hours and Will Decide How to Volunteer Our Time Later

If you aren't sure how you want to volunteer your time yet, that's okay.  

 

We know your time is valuable.  Thank you for joining us in our work toward racial equity.

Click "Submit" and then prepare to Act for Racial Equity. 

We want to hear about and see what you did in action.  Take photos and submit them to ARC@barnerttemple.org.
Thu, March 28 2024 18 Adar II 5784