The Rubber City Jews were truly in the giving spirit this Holiday Season. Together with Young Professionals of Akron (YPA) at our Wags & Whiskers event, we gave a large contribution of pet supplies to Paws and Prayers, a local pet rescue organization. RCJ members volunteered at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore by pricing, shelving, and organizing donated items and enjoyed lunch together after the project.

Many of our young families joined us at Barnes and Noble Booksellers as we collected used books and selected new books to donate to the Battered Women's Shelter. We joined Uri and Gili, our shlichim, at the Haven of Rest to make beds and prepare the shelter on Christmas Eve, and on Christmas Day members of RCJ joined many others from the Jewish and Muslim communities to serve a holiday meal to the homeless at the Second Chance Village.

Our group is committed to helping the community, and we look forward to many more Tikkun Olam opportunities in 2018. We will also be enjoying the winter months with activities such as ice skating, sledding, a Jewish jewelry-making program, an escape room challenge, and a Purim masquerade. Visit our Facebook page, jewishakron.org/rcj, or the community calendar at jewishakron.org for specific event dates and details in the coming weeks.

RCJ is especially excited to co-sponsor a Musical Shabbat at Beth El with the Meshuganotes, OSU's Jewish A Capella group, on Jan. 26. Tickets to this event will be heavily discounted for RCJ-Ticket holders, so be sure to purchase your RCJ-Ticket at jewishakron.org/RCJ-Ticket or at any RCJ event with cash or check. The RCJ-Ticket gives you access to a whole year of RCJ programs and discounts to many other community events.

RCJ works in partnership with and in support of the Jewish Community Board of Akron, the Sands-Rogovy Fund, and the Albert L. and Janet A. Schultz Endowment Fund for Jewish Programming.