(Photos: Some of our lovely volunteers getting together to bake for the vegan kiddush, Sept ‘23)
WHO MAKES IT ALL HAPPEN?
We all do! Yes, you too!
We create mindful Jewish community as we focus on making meaningful, inspiring Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services for ourselves, our families, and friends old and new. We make it happen between now and September, gifting our time and skill in balance with the rest of our lives.
When you join GRJ 2023 we will share more details of the roles from logistics to welcoming crew, from technical expertise to fabulous food.
THE VOLUNTEERS ROTA
This year, GRJ volunteering is (as the name suggests) voluntary, but we do encourage you all to take the plunge and sign up here. We guarantee you’ll get more out of the grassroots experience than if you try to just consume it. Most of the volunteer shifts are things like: an hour on the kitchen crew, an hour on the welcome desk, or a couple of hours helping get the space ready before Rosh Hashana.
If you don’t want to volunteer on the day to immerse yourself fully in the moment, there are lots of ways you can contribute both before and after - from donating extra to subsidize tickets for others, to storing books in your garage throughout the year or helping to decorate the tent before the event.
For anyone who wants to step up even more (we would love your creativity and energy), there are also some “chief” roles which still need filling.
TOP 5 WAYS WE NEED YOU TO CONTRIBUTE MOST
1. Leyning and davening: Do you or someone you know know how to do high holidays Torah or Haftorah readings? If you are even a maybe, we'd be happy to chat.
2. Tent setter uppers: We need helpers to come to Golders Green on the evening of Thursday 14th of September for 1-2 hours to help decorate the tent. No heavy lifting and no need to be arty, just help us put out flowers, chairs, hang up bunting and origami birds.
3. Service co-leaders and a timekeeper: Service co-leaders support the service leader at the bimah and do anything from reading prayers and Torah passages in Hebrew, to sharing reflections in English which bring meaning to the experience for the community and practicalities like sharing page numbers. The role is yours to shape and Dan S. is very happy to discuss. We're also looking for a volunteer timekeeper for some of the services to help keep them on track and allow the core team to focus on the service leading only.
4. Kids service leaders: Could you read a story? Or lead a game, host a discussion, teach a song? It would be very welcome. Full list also here
5. Donations: Costs have gone up, we've improved accessibility and we want to make sure that nobody is excluded from Grassroots because they can't afford it. If you'd like to make a donation to give us more financial freedom and security, please do spare what you can.
It's really important that our core volunteers do not burn out, and we need to take care of them! Hopefully, if everyone does a little bit, we can all feel like we are in it together. Please only sign up for shifts that you know you will be able to make, as it puts the team in an awkward position if you commit to volunteering and then fail to turn up! GRJ is entirely volunteer run, so we really value your input - thank you for chipping in!
