We are happy to update you on our recent and upcoming activities. Our committee is currently working on reopening the Tzedakah office. We are now prepared to once again accept applications from individuals and organizations requesting approval to collect in our community. In the next few weeks our new website, which will allow you to obtain updated information on approved meshulachim, will be open. Recommended guidelines for limiting face to face contact with the meshulachim will be included.
We need your help–If meshulachim come to your home, please inform them that our committee is now accepting applications. Please encourage them to call the committee’s office, 201 343-5190. We do not advocate, at present, inviting the meshulachim into your home under any circumstance. Please share with us your suggestions on how to be responsive to the poor without compromising your concerns for your health. Additionally, feel free to direct your comments or questions to Dovid Schild via text 201 906-5443.
Over the past few weeks, we have been asked how our committee works; specifically, how we approve an individual to collect in our community. Following, is a short summary. The Process — If a person would like to obtain our certificate, they must first complete an application (available in English, Russian, and Hebrew). We have four types of applications—one for each of the most common reasons a person solicits funds. These include: Individual Need; Institutional Solicitation; Medical Need; and Hachnosas Kallah. The completed application is submitted to the committee with supporting documents (letters of reference, other certificates, etc.). After a review of the documents, a committee member will personally speak with the appropriate people who know of the individual wishing to collect funds. (In America, Israel, etc.) One of the references must be a personal Rav who is known to us personally or by reputation. For example, if a person is requesting to collect on behalf of an organization in Israel, we will make personal contact with a Rav to confirm that they know of the person and will also confirm the organization exists and that the person is authorized to collect on behalf of the organization. Without making personal contact with these references, we will not grant a certificate. If the person provides us with all the information we need, the process generally takes about one to two weeks. The process can take longer if we are awaiting information or are having trouble contacting the references. Our committee functions on a voluntary basis and there is no fee for the meshulachim to receive a certificate. Wishing all a Happy Chanukah.
Teaneck/Bergenfield Tzedakah Committee.