Credit Crunch Support
Businesses are closing, people are losing jobs and house prices are falling. We're in a recession. Some are affected more than others but we all read the news. Being part of a community means being there for each other - especially when times are hard. So what is the greatest chesed you can do? Maimonides lists eight levels, the highest of which is this:
"Support a fellow Jew by giving them with a gift or loan, or entering into a partnership with them, or finding employment for them, in order to strengthen them so that they are no longer dependent on others..." (Laws of Tzedakah 10:7)
Following Maimonides, US Chesed is promoting the work of the Employment Resource Centre. The ERC is an independent charity helping members of the Jewish community who find themselves out of work. They provide personal advisors to guide people through the job search process and a wide range of seminars including CV writing, interview skills, career transition, presentation skills and confidence building.
If you or someone you know needs the ERC, remember that all enquiries are treated in strict confidence and all services are free. Or you could help the ERC by networking on behalf of their clients or mentoring in your specialism. They also advertise vacancies for employers for free. Contact ERC on 020 8883 1000 www.ercentre.org
In a credit crunch banks are too nervous to lend money to us or each other, and when they do lend they charge higher rates of interest to cover their risk. But communities are different. They are about people not profit. They are built on respect, not risk. As Maimonides teaches, we must give each other a helping hand. We must support each other and weather the current climate.
No one really knows how long the recession will last or how bad it will get. What we do know is that chesed makes a difference.
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