A Continued Call to Action from our President
Dear Honourable Judges, Colleagues, Students, Stagiaires and Friends of the Society,
The COVID-19 virus has affected us all – some more than others. Some of our friends and neighbours are sick and all of us to varying degrees are afraid. These unprecedented times require us to do some introspection and require us to surmount our fears and heed the call “For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore, I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.”
During this time Lord Reading, through its network of connections and collective pool of knowledge, must act boldly to help in any and all ways we can. Our community has pressing and urgent needs.
I implore each of you that can to help in any of these endeavors to do so. Also, if you or anyone you know needs assistance of any type please contact us at resources@lordreading.org.
MADA Needs Volunteers for the Passover Holiday
MADA Community Center urgently requires volunteers. They have put in place stringent safety measures and this, coupled with the virus and the upcoming Passover holiday, has created a severe shortage of personnel. Here is what they need:
- As many drivers with cars as possible Sunday, March 29 and/or Monday March 30 to deliver Passover Food Baskets to those in need. Normally a large number of people pick up their baskets, but given Covid-19 that is no longer possible. The boxes are large and a normal car will be able to hold approximately 5 boxes. All areas need coverage, so wherever you are from you are needed;
- As many drivers with cars as possible Tuesday, April 7. As there will not be a community Seder for the less fortunate in our community MADA will be delivering “Seder in a Box”. There will be at least 2,500 Seders to deliver and they must all be delivered that day. All areas need coverage so wherever you are from you are needed;
- Passover Food Preparation from Sunday, March 29 to Monday, April 6 -Volunteers are needed to cut, prepare and package the food for distribution to the needy.
If you can help, please email us at volunteer@lordreading.org, or you can fill out their volunteer form at https://madacenter.com/passover/passover-volunteering/, where you can also find more information about Passover volunteering.
Please note that if you are 65 or older, or you have any cold-like symptoms or have been in close proximity of someone who has tested positive for Covid-19, or have been out of Quebec in the last 14 days, you are ineligible to volunteer. Donations to MADA are always welcome and needed.
Barreau legal help telephone line
A heartfelt thank you to those that have already answered the call and given of their time. I know our lives have been seriously disrupted, but the Barreau du Québec still needs volunteers and we are in a position to help. People are calling in, and lawyers will provide free 15-minute telephone consultations regarding various legal questions a significant amount having to do with the impacts of the COVID-19 virus.
Please email legalhelp@lordreading.org and give us the dates and time slots you are available in the coming two weeks Monday to Friday, all of the languages in which you can communicate and the fields of law in respect of which you are comfortable giving advice. We will relay this information to the Bar and they will contact you.
Membership resources
If you, or anybody you know, requires any type of assistance, please let us know. This assistance can range from people checking in on them online or by telephone, or going to buy their groceries because they are quarantined or incapacitated. Please know that these requests will be treated with the highest level of confidentiality and we will not judge you. If anybody needs anything of any nature whatsoever, please do not be shy and let us know at resources@lordreading.org.
Stay Safe,
Gregory Azancot
President
