KMS Community Connections
KMS is happy to support community organizations with listings on our website. To submit your event or initiative, please complete our online form. KMS reserves the right to not publish submissions and to remove them after a reasonable period of time.
Free Materials - Including High Holy Day Prayer Books - For Anyone Who is Blind or Has Low Vision: JBI can help you or a loved one who is blind or visually impaired celebrate the Jewish holidays with FREE Machzorim (prayer books), Selichot, Taschlich prayers, Yizkor prayers, a 16-month holiday calendar, and much more, all in accessible formats. Founded in 1931 as The Jewish Braille Institute, JBI provides people of all ages who are blind, have low vision, are print disabled, or are physically unable to hold a book, access to texts vital to Jewish culture, heritage, education, religious life, and community. JBI delivers, free of charge, a wide variety of Jewish-interest materials in large print, audio, and braille, directly to our patrons’ doorsteps. To learn more about JBI’s free circulating library of both fiction and nonfiction, liturgical texts, personalized custom materials, and cultural offerings including a bi-monthly magazine and concert and lecture series, call 800-433-1531, email library@jbilibrary.org, or visit www.jbilibrary.org. We ask that requests for High Holy Day materials be made prior to September 7th, 2023.
Helping Jobseekers since 2003 - David Marwick and Max Rudmann
Do you worry whether the latest tech wave will wipe your job? Or are you seeking your first job after graduation, frustrated about not getting any response to the umpteen applications you have sent? Over a lifetime, according to some studies, we will hold 12 jobs and experience several career changes. Transitions between jobs and careers are usually rated among life’s most stressful experiences. If you live in Kemp Mill’s Jewish community, you have probably heard of JobAssist, a volunteer organization that helps jobseekers of all ages and occupations, in their search for work.
JobAssist began 20 years ago, during the recession of 2003, when the presidents and rabbis of the community’s synagogues supported an initiative to bring a personal, neighborly touch to reduce the isolation and stress of looking for work. Volunteers from Kemp Mill Synagogue, Silver Spring Jewish Center, and Young Israel Shomrai Emunah joined forces to reach out to jobseekers. A website was created, contacts were designated to make connections in key occupations, a job club organized, current openings in a wide range of occupations publicized, workshops and webinars offered, and, for a while, a newspaper column published. Over the years, how we reach out and our specific services have evolved, as have the resources available, but the essence has remained because the challenges of finding are constant: how to find jobs (often not publicized) for which you qualify and getting potential employers to respond. Working one-on-one, we coach young and old(er) jobseekers, including helping them understand job search from the perspective of a potential employer. Among other things, we work on shedding jargon and clearly explaining how their skills and experiences meet or exceed the job’s requirements and focusing their time and energy only on openings for which they qualify. We also challenge our clients to reach out to friends, neighbors, and acquaintances to identify potential openings in their field, to learn how to work with social media (such as LinkedIn), in order to grow their networks to land their next job, and beyond.
Over the years, hundreds of jobseekers have reached out to JobAssist, formerly known as the Kemp Mil Employment Assistance Initiative. On average we talk, each year, with 30 or more individuals. Our “clients” range from college students seeking a summer internship or their first post-graduation job to mid-career individuals and seasoned professionals with significant work experience in multiple fields. To some extent, once they have identified (and often expanded whom they are targeting), they all need help in getting out their message about their availability and the value they will bring to their next employer. We recognize that we are only one of the resources available to jobseekers. And we engage with them as long they want or need our assistance -- sometimes for only one conversation, and other times for months. It is not unusual for jobseekers to need that long to develop and refine their resumes and LinkedIn profile, conduct informational interviews, interview for jobs, and secure one.
Just as “it takes a village to raise a child,” JobAssist relies on the compassion and strong community bonds in Kemp Mill to get referrals regarding jobseekers, to make contacts where they can get information to explore a new career oath or to search for a job, or to learn industry specifics. We appreciate the opportunity to continue to serve and welcome your suggestions and referrals at JobAssist.org.
Kemp Mill’s new men’s a cappella group, Kol Ha-Ma’ayan, is looking for a few more community members to consider joining our ranks. The group is directed by Aaron Yevick and we practice on Wednesday evenings at 8:45 pm. Please contact Aaron at aaronjmy@gmail.com for more information.
Please join Dirshu! Shiur options (at YGW): Monday-Friday 5:45am (R. Reingold) or Monday-Thursday 9-10pm (R. Cortell\R. Werner). About 2.5 daf covered each week.
Dating Database: Single, widowed, and divorced men and women are invited to submit their dating information into A Single Impact's FREE dating database! Our database is only viewed by A Single Impact shadchanim, and we don’t share any profile unless provided with permission. Our 7 dedicated shadchanim are eager to help you find your match! Visit ASINGLEIMPACT.COM. See flyer here.
Newly married? Growing family? Just need a budget check-up? Izun is a community resource that provides free and confidential coaching to help you examine your budget and achieve financial stability. Email us at barbara@getizun.org
Podcast with Rabbi Hanoch Teller: If you like amazingly insightful, true stories, cherish sophisticated humor, appreciate the application of history to contemporary life and wish to live a dignified life marked by self-improvement, (drum roll please...) subscribe to Teller From Jerusalem, available on every podcast platform. See flyer here for details.