Shortly before Pesach 2020, a community member commented on the Darkhei Noam Chesed WhatsApp group that the pandemic was going to be a marathon, not a sprint. We do not know whether he envisioned the marathon to be this long, but as we completed another round of COVID-style Yamim Noraim services, the message continues to resonate.

In our last annual meeting, we were privileged to experience a sense of community. As a group, 56 users generated a word cloud distilling their experience with Darkhei Noam programming. Several words most prominently featured in the word cloud were “innovative,” “caring,” and “community.” The desire to maintain our community and adjust to the year as it continued to unfold, with the arrival of highly effective vaccines and the emergence of the Delta variant being two notable events, has continued to guide us as we explore the ways that we can be a community in the face of an ever-changing sense of “normal.”

The value of direct community involvement and participation is something that we have encouraged over the years and continue to encourage both now and in the future. It has both shaped the creation and continuation of annual community meetings and the community’s involvement in voting in our new board. 

To Join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85884384498?pwd=ZUhoTXNQRSsyclJGanRycnpqaWtTUT09
Or Dial In: 929 205 6099
Meeting ID: 858 8438 4498          Passcode: 067282