Dear Members and Friends,
We hope everyone had a wonderful Purim! Megillat Esther reminds us that, ultimately, the safety of the Jewish people is dependent on the Jewish people. We are thus asking you to consider becoming a member of the Torat Emet Community Security Service (CSS) security volunteer team.
Congregation Torat Emet continues to work to improve the safety and security of its congregants, building, and community. As part of this effort, Torat Emet will become a CSS Synagogue. CSS will provide training to a cadre of congregants to become a CSS security volunteer team. The volunteer team will work in concert with our professional security officers to identify potential threats, manage access to the building, monitor our physical space, deescalate potential conflicts, and perform other adjunct activities. You can learn more about CSS via this video link:
https://tinyurl.com/CSS-Synagogue.
CSS volunteers do not need to be ninja-warriors! Instead, volunteers can be of either gender and simply need to be physically capable of standing and walking during a 1-2 hour shift (although some roles may be performed while seated).
In order to become a certified volunteer you will need to participate in a 2 part training:
Part 1- ONLINE: Self-paced training (will take 3-4 hours).
- To take this course, please register in the following link: https://thecss.org/contact-us/join-css/
- If you participated in Entry Point, please use the SAME email you used when registering for it, however Entry Point training is NOT required to become a certified voluntee
- When asked if our synagogue has a team choose the option TEAM IN PROCESS
- see below What to expect after your registration is submitted
Part 2- IN-PERSON: Practical certification (3 hours long) – This session will take place at Torat Emet on Sunday, April 23, 2023, 9 am - 1 pm.
- *** NOTE that to attend the in-person certification you need to have completed the online part
WHAT TO EXPECT after you fill out the registration form- Fill out Join CSS form
- Upon approval receive email with link to complete CSS’s volunteer agreement. This is a two-step process: you will need to submit a very short form, after which you will receive a DocuSign email to electronically sign the agreement
- Once volunteer agreement (BOTH parts are signed) receive a link to the online training
- Do the online training and participate in the in person certification to review the online course and role play live scenarios (3 hour) in order to become a CSS Volunteer
The more volunteers that join the team will translate to longer times between shifts and/or shorter shifts. We are hoping to have enough volunteers to limit the frequency of shifts to once every few weeks (or less).
This is a great opportunity to participate in, and support, the Torat Emet community. We strongly encourage you to take the training and join the volunteer team, if you are able. Thank you for considering!
Safety & Security Committee
