A contribution of time and talents is invaluable. Join a committee and help to work on a project. Our members have so many skills, some tapped, some untapped. Make your talents known. You'll be glad you did.

Participate in one of our Caring Community activities.

Become an active participant in Social Action.

Give blood at one of our synagogue blood drives or at any New York Blood Center location and include Central's ID number in your form.

Financial contributions are, of course, appreciated because they help to ensure the future of Central Synagogue's building.

Please click here for Contribution Form, Gift Cards, and Other methods to contribute.

Which ever you choose, your help will be greatly appreciated.

In the past few weeks, as Sderot has come under intense Palestinian rocket attacks, several congregations have asked us what they can do to help, and so, at this weekend's meeting of the Board of Trustees, we agreed to reopen the Israel Emergency Relief Fund . We ask you to share this information with your congregants and encourage them to come to the aid of our Israeli brothers and sisters. And we hope you will make a donation of your own at www.urj.org/donate.

For seven years, Palestinian rockets have fallen on the Israeli city of Sderot. In recent weeks, Hamas, backed by Iran, has accelerated the attacks. To appreciate the extent of these attacks, keep in mind the following: in the 1991 Gulf War, Saddam Hussein succeeded in hitting all of Israel with a total of 39 rockets. A few weeks ago, Hamas sent 40 rockets into Sderot in the space of a single day.

The residents of Sderot have paid a terrible price. Some have died in the rocket attacks. The children of the city are traumatized, sometimes unable to go to

school, often unable to sleep at night. Businesses have been forced to close repeatedly. Surely the citizens of the town are entitled to the best defenses, social services, and support that the Jewish people can provide.

Just as happened last summer, during and after the war in Lebanon, when the Reform community in Israel rushed to help the people of the North, the IMPJ is once again providing services to those in need. It has provided shelter and support to the elderly, children and disabled, and is helping to fund the "Living Under Fire: Children and Families in Sderot" program of the Israel Center for the Treatment of Psychotrauma.

Last summer, the North American Reform community raised $1.4 million which was distributed to the IMPJ and other organizations. This year, the IMPJ is turning to us again, hoping we can raise an initial $100,000 to help those in need. Information on how the fund will be spend is available online at www.urj.org/israel.

We cannot let them down. Please, give generously at www.urj.org/donate. And help us spread the word.

Robert Heller, chair
Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president