These are tough economic times and we need to pull together as a community to lesson the suffering of so many. I know we will.

A short time ago, The CJN reported that more and more Jewish social service organizations are preparing themselves to help out more of our Jewish neighbours – and believe me, regardless of how big their house is, the people suffering might just be the family living next to you.

Recently a Jewish professional told me a heart-rending story of a person who awakens every morning, gets dressed and heads off to work. She said the truth is that this person is out of work, but the person walks the streets pretending to have gainful employment and that all is good.

How terribly sad. This happens more times than we know.

The question, then, is what can we do to help – those of us who are able – in order to alleviate some of the stress being felt by many of our fellow community members, be they retired, near retirement, young families or individuals on their own?

The affluent bear a heavy responsibility in an economy such as the one we’re in now. The fact is that the wealthy need to share their personal resources even more now than they do during good times. They know this, and so many of them respond to the call when asked.

As much as we think that it’s easy to be rich, it’s not always so, and we should never take the well-off for granted. The truth is that the financial burden of getting our community through these tough times is mostly on their shoulders.

Those who are less affluent but still able to give must consider the community as another one of their children. Just as they invest in their progeny’s future and ensure that money is put aside for their schooling, so, too, must consideration be made for our community and its needs. Choose an issue – hunger or unemployment, for example – and crunch your numbers so that your tzedakah allotment grows. Although this isn’t the reasons you should help, your goodness will come back to you.

If you haven’t created an endowment fund yet, think about doing so at this time. You can designate your donation and be very specific about how your money is spent. UJA Federation of Greater Toronto has an endowment department that can work with you to create this charitable entity to benefit one of its agencies, or unaffiliated ones. It’s the right time to do so. Endow funds for our community’s homeless, hungry and families that are suffering.

For those of you who don’t have disposable income left at the end of the month, consider how you can give of yourself to those in need. More and more food banks and clothing banks are cropping up everywhere, and with your help, families can have shoes, socks, sweaters and more food to eat. And time spent with those struggling is also a form of giving.

If you think all Jews in Toronto are getting three square meals a day, they’re not. These are tough times and we all need to play our part – in a big way – to strengthen our community.

Times when you have no choice mobilize the spirit of courage. – Jewish saying

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