Several months ago we shared with you the story of Casting for Recovery, an organization whose goal is to help breast cancer survivors recover, both physically and emotionally, through the unique benefits of fly-fishing…a sport which uses just those muscles most affected by breast cancer surgery. We told you about the Alaska chapter of CFR and how we offered them a matching grant so that they could hold their fly-fishing retreat for breast cancer survivors this past July.

We were surely impressed with the Alaska women-they completed our challenge and then some, and went on to have a successful retreat. Well–we recently received word of one of their new fund-raisers and we could not help but share it with you.

"Foundations for Recovery," is a truly special collection of bras that have been "artistically interpreted" by 22 local artists. In addition to raising awareness of Casting for Recovery, a silent auction will be held to raise funds for the Alaska group’s coming retreats.

The picture above is one of the bras being auctioned, and…yes, you guessed correctly–it is entitled, "Training Bra"! (check out the wheels!)

I knew the Alaska group was special when I worked with them…I just didn’t know the bounds of their creativity!

It’s an old song title, but says it better than anything else…"Everybody Loves a Clown", and no one knows this better than Dr. Neal Goldberg a psychologist with a keen interest in teens and the difficulties they encounter as they grow to adulthood. Previous diary entries have told the story of Neal and his organization Lev Leytzan-Compassionate Clown Alley which offers medical clown training to many teens and young adults in the metropolitan New York area.

In addition to Lev Leytzan’s local programs which bring the clowns to hospitals, nursing homes and even to schools where they run a very successful fire-safety program for school-age children, the group has one additional program that we especially admire. The Ambassador Program brings these talented teens to what can best be described as "emotionally needy" communities outside of the United States, particularly in Eastern Europe. In the past the group has visited countries such as Hungary and Romania, in addition to their annual trip to Israel.

To truly understand the significance of the Ambassador Program we want to share the story of a visit the clowns made to an elderly Shoah survivor in Hungary this past summer. The woman, disabled and confined to her 6th floor apartment, received the clowns and was able, even briefly, to forget her loneliness and traumatic past. When the group began to take leave of her apartment, she immediately begged them to get her copies of the pictures they had taken while frolicking around. In fact, her request was more like a pleading as she exclaimed, "I want to remember! I want to remember!" What a special gift these kids left behind.

So, when Neal recently shared that the clowns had been invited to visit Berlin in a few months, but that the costs of the trip would be prohibitive, we knew that we had to help. The Good People Fund offered Lev Leytzan a $1000 matching grant, provided they could gather a similar amount. Today, Neal wrote to say that he had not only matched the $1000 but actually exceeded it by raising an additional $450! It looks as if these compassionate clowns will be spending some winter days in Berlin. We have no doubt that they will leave smiles on the faces of many of the elders and kids they meet there.

Sometimes you get an email or a letter that describes a situation far better than one could imagine and that is what just happened when I opened an email from Jeannie Jaybush who runs Baby Corner in Seattle. We have shared their work several times in this diary– Baby Corner serves as a resource for local social services who deal with families (with few economic resources) that have a new baby and cannot afford many of the items needed to help with caring for a new infant (or older siblings). Jeannie, a co-founder, is one of the angels who run the program.

Read what she says-it is a little frightening.

Hi Naomi,

Jeannie

We doubt that the situation is Seattle is much different than anywhere else. We are just happy that donors have allowed us the opportunity to help places like Baby Corner as they work on the true frontline.

For the M’s, an Ethiopian family living in Netanya, Israel, life has always been difficult. With six children between the ages of 4 and 15 even small emergency needs can throw them into an economic crisis. When one of the children recently developed a paralysis in his legs due to a blood clot, the continuing two-month hospitalization has brought chaos and serious financial disruption to the family. Each parent takes a shift at the hospital (the mother during the day, and the father at night, after he returns from work) which requires over an hour’s ride in each direction on public transportation. Each month, this expense comes to more than $400 so that for the past two months the family has had to find more than $800 from an already meager income to cover these critical costs.

When we read about this situation in a morning email from Anne and David Silverman, who both help run the Forgotten People Fund-an all-volunteer group that works in Netanya where there is a large Ethiopian population, we knew we had to step in. A quick call to Anne confirmed that this was a case that they were having great difficulty trying to help and our offer to cover two months of this expense was gratefully received.

Anne went on to explain that with the recent economic downturn, even more Ethiopian families are experiencing great difficulties trying to feed, clothe and provide for themselves. Over the past year, FPF volunteers have become part of a Rapid Response Team which was set up by the municipal social workers with whom the organization has a close relationship. A volunteer is assigned to each district and when a social worker in that district comes upon a serious issue that needs immediate attention, the volunteer is called and goes to investigate. Once they confirm the need, the Forgotten People Fund steps in to underwrite the expense.

What a great system this is and what a fabulous group comprises the Forgotten People Fund. This immediate triage helps to prevent bad situations from becoming worse and offers the families some sense of relief that they are not alone during this difficult time.

We ended our conversation with Anne by telling her that she should not hesitate to contact us when a specific need was beyond their means. If we can, we will gladly use the tzedakah money donors have entrusted to us just for these very types of situations.

When the New York Jets trounced the New England Patriots on Sunday, September 20th it was not just the local fans that enjoyed the huge array of available food the Izod Center sells during sports events. Thanks to our good friend, Syd Mandelbaum, founder of Rock and Wrap It Up!, local food pantries and soup kitchens are able to feed hundreds of people with the concessions’ leftovers.

As we picked up our local paper (The N.J. Star-Ledger) this past Sunday what a great surprise it was to see the front page headline which described Syd’s work. Since it is true that a picture is often worth a thousand words, we suggest you follow this link to the great video which tells this story.

http://videos.nj.com/star-ledger/2009/09/leftover_food_from_giants_stad.html

Now that Syd has taken on the food vendors inside the stadium, we wonder if anyone has thought about the bounty of food that goes to waste out in the parking lot where tailgate parties abound?

"At the restaurant, I was, once again, struck to see how young these soldiers were. I noticed a young man who was painfully thin and asked our liaison at the hospital about him. He explained that his wounds were not visible but rather he had suffered extensive internal surgeries and was now just beginning to be able to enjoy normal food. Some of the soldiers were wearing artificial limbs and they were in the process of receiving rehabilitation treatments to teach them to how use these aids properly. Each soldier had his own story to tell. After being in the hospital for so many months, the group was delighted to be able to share this weekend together. Several other diners at the hotel reported that a wonderful time was had by all."

These words came to us this morning from Barbara Silverman, founder of A Package From Home, which has been providing for the general welfare of Israel’s soldiers for almost 10 years. In addition to the thousands of packages of food and warm clothing which the organization has delivered, last year Barbara began the Soldiers’ Respite Weekend Program which brings several of Israel’s severely wounded soldiers to Jerusalem for a wonderful holiday weekend. This break from their ongoing and exhaustive medical treatment is just what the doctors ordered and Barbara tells us how excited and grateful the participants were.

This year’s program was held two weeks ago and this morning we received Barbara’s report on the program’s success as well as several pictures attesting to the soldiers’ enjoyment. We are sure that a few nights at Jerusalem’s beautiful Inbal Hotel went a long way to restoring some happiness and peace of mind to the soldiers who were part of the weekend.

Nothing makes us prouder than to be part of Barbara’s amazing work. She is a special woman with tremendous energy and a passion for helping where she can.