Kaplan Caring Committee

Do you need help getting to the doctor or running errands? Would you like to attend Shabbat services or events at the synagogue but don't have a way to get there? Are you temporarily unable to cook meals due to an injury or illness? Are you unable to leave your home and would enjoy visitors during the day?

Our Caring Committee Volunteers may be able to help you. If you have a need that we may be able to help with, please email the Caring Committee at caringcommittee@agudath.org or leave a message on our confidential voicemail at 973-226-3600 ext. 142 and our coordinator, Cheryl Bernstein, will be back in touch with you. If you are interested in volunteering on the Caring Committee, please email your name and phone number. Thank you so much for considering this role.

THE CAI CARING COMMITTEE
Do you need help getting to the doctor or running errands? Would you like to attend Shabbat services or events at the synagogue but don't have a way to get there? Are you temporarily unable to cook meals due to an injury or illness? Are you unable to leave your home and would enjoy visitors during the day?

Our Caring Committee Volunteers may be able to help you. If you have a need that we may be able to help with, please email the Caring Committee at caringcommittee@agudath.org or leave a message on our confidential voicemail at 973-226-3600 ext. 142 and our coordinator, Cheryl Bernstein, will be back in touch with you. If you are interested in volunteering on the Caring Committee, please email your name and phone number. Thank you so much for considering this role.

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PEER TO PEER CONNECTION PROGRAM
Do you live alone and would like to make a connection with a peer from the community who also lives alone? Through this pairing, both of you can arrange to say hello via text and/or phone calls each day. This would be a simple friendly hello for both which can help with loneliness and provide some company. If you live alone and would be interested in participating, send your name to the Caring Committee at cbernstein@agudath.org. Once we have a list of participants, we will help you to connect with someone on the list.

History of Kaplan Caring Committee
The George and Molly Kaplan Caring Committee was dedicated to the memory of George and Molly Kaplan, members of Congregation Agudath Israel since its earliest days. George and Molly raised their family at CAI and supported the congregation and the greater community in innumerable ways. George served on many committees including holding the position of President of the congregation, and as president of B’nai B’rith as well. Many a congregant patronized the Caldwell Men's Shop on 'the Avenue', where George could be found from 1932 to 1982 until his retirement. Additionally, George Kaplan served on the Caldwell Council and was Mayor of the Township of Caldwell from 1967 to 1975, as well as chief of the Caldwell Fire Department.  Molly was active in Sisterhood, Hadassah, and B’nai B’rith. She spent many years in the kitchen using her exceptional cooking skills to benefit the congregation in many ways. She was well-known for her famous chocolate chip cookies, which she lovingly distributed to family, friends, neighbors and congregants. Molly also repaired our prayer books, which Cantor Caplan delivered to her house. This loving task filled her time and allowed her to perform a mitzvah.

Regular Shabbat attendees, both Molly and George could be found in the second row of the sanctuary, a space that Molly continued to occupy after George's death in 1989. The Caring Committee and its dedicated members played a vital role in the last years of Molly's life, filling in for family with phone calls, rides and visits when needed. They both wanted nothing more than to be able to give back to their synagogue community and Caldwell in general. Aptly named for George and Molly, our Caring Committee continues to provide necessary help and friendship to congregants not fortunate enough to have family nearby. Providing rides to medical appointments, errands as needed, and check-in telephone calls, the George and Molly Kaplan Caring Committee plays a tremendous role in so many lives throughout our community.