by Debbie Goldman
Photos courtesy of Debbie Goldman
On Friday Oct 10, 2026, I delivered the Fabrangen Tzedakah Collective archive to Jonathan Edelman, Collections Curator at the Capital Jewish Museum. He was thrilled to receive them.
The Fabrangen Tzedakah Collective was founded in 1975. It is now 50 years old and still going strong. Joyce Migdall is the coordinator and I recently transferred treasurer duties to Joe Oppenheimer. The Collective was founded by Fabrangen members and friends, and while Fabrangen continues to list the Collective under the Tikun Olam section of the website, it now operates as an independent organization. Many Fabrangen members continue to donate to the Collective and many others have donated in the past — and were central to the Collective in its early years. We continue to welcome all donations with our annual outreach in December. If you do not receive the December appeal and would like to be added, contact Joyce Migdall at fabrangentzedakah@gmail.com or go on the Fabrangen website link.
The paper materials donated to the Museum include notebooks, folders with Collective minutes, distributions and other materials, and checkbook registers dating back to the early days of the collective through today. Several notable members of the collective included Esther Ticktin, Max Ticktin, and in the early days, Arthur Waskow. Esther Ticktin was the treasurer for more than 30 years and the notebooks and checkbook registers are in her beautiful and careful handwriting. The materials include a beautiful letter written by Esther Ticktin explaining why she supported donations to the United Jewish Appeal. The digital materials consist of spreadsheet(s) of donations since 2012 and various reports. In addition, there is one folder with materials from a spin-off Chevrat Tzedakah Collective, 1981-1996.