December 4, 2008

A Lifesaver

For some schools in Israel, specifically those located in very poor communities, there are never enough resources to provide the students with even the most basic of supplies…paper, books – we all know what a school needs to function effectively. Our friend, Yitz Feigenbaum, who shares in the running of Bet Hayeled, (that very special haven for kids from distressed homes that we have written about many times), recently told us a very tragic story. Bet Hayeled is located near Beit Shean (which you may know as the town where there is a huge archeological excavation that can dazzle your mind when you visit) and Yitz has often spoken about the principal of the local school who has made remarkable changes with his dedication and desire to improve the students’ educational experiences.

Aside from the usual educational tools which the school needs, one additional glaring need is basic first aid equipment. The elementary school, junior and senior high school are all located on one campus and serve more than 500 students – first aid equipment such as bandages, oxygen and other life-saving equipment are essential. The critical importance of these items was tragically pointed out this fall when a high school student collapsed in the middle of a physical education class and died for lack of equipment which might have saved his life. With the generosity of some donors who are particularly interested in the welfare of children, we were able to provide half the funds for a defibrillator which will be kept on campus and managed by staff members who are being instructed in the proper use of such equipment. Another fund helped with the purchase of some basic first aid supplies, as well.

For the students in Beit Shean, the foresight of a dedicated educator and the generosity of donors from the United States, have given them some critically important tools which we hope will be rarely, if ever, used. Yasher koach to everyone who took part in this special mitzvah!

December 1, 2008

It Never Really Ends

One of last week’s emails came from our friends at ATZUM in Israel (http://www.atzum.org). We have shared their work with you in this diary several times. Their efforts are directed to three important areas – survivors of terror attacks, Righteous Gentiles living in Israel, and victims of human trafficking, a very serious problem in that country.

Karyn London is ATZUM’s social worker who works with survivors of terror attacks, and her email which arrived this past Friday described a very sad and serious situation which required an immediate response if possible. Karyn shared the story of an Ethiopian family which had survived a terror attack several years ago. The family now includes three young children. Despite the passage of time, the wife still suffers from serious PTSD and cannot work. Fortunately, the father is employed full-time. Despite their every effort to remain independent and pay their bills, the family recently found themselves with a large electric bill which they could not pay. Though they had funds to pay for part of the bill, the company does not allow partial payment and turned off their power. With Shabbat approaching, three young children under the age of five were now living in a dark and no doubt, cold apartment.

We responded to Karyn’s request to help with the electric bill immediately and have sent funds to cover the balance of the bill. Hopefully, their power will be turned back on within the next day or so. Time goes on but the scars of a terror attack never really disappear.

November 18, 2008

Hanukkah in the Big Easy!

A few weeks ago I began a conversation with Orlie Prince and her family – Hanukkah was coming and the family wanted to do something more meaningful than exchanging gifts – they wanted to help other people. As Orlie shared with me:

This year Chanukah is all about giving for us. We feel very fortunate to have as much as we do and feel even more fortunate that we are in a position to help others during this holiday season.

They realized that the city of New Orleans had not yet recovered from the damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina and chose to travel there for a week of mitzvahs and Hanukkah celebration. How could we help?

Realizing the difficulties that arise in doing any volunteer work during the Christmas-New Year break, I introduced Orlie to Samantha Lakin, a Teach for America volunteer working with a special education class in one of the area’s poorest neighborhoods. Sam is not only a dynamic young woman, we know from firsthand experience just how creative and inspired she is when it comes to this type of mitzvah work. There was no doubt that connecting Sam to Orlie would produce special opportunities for everyone.

Within about 10 days, all arrangements have been made and the Prince family, including Rachel and Tamar, their two daughters, have made a generous commitment to help Sam’s class in whatever ways are identified by Sam and her fellow teacher. Rachel and Tamar have written letters to the class and even shopped for special DVD’s that Samantha has requested. And, as often happens, Rachel’s public school teacher wants to establish a relationship with Samantha’s class as well… mitzvah goreret mitzvah… one mitzvah surely leads to another!

We are excited about this connection and say Yasher Koach to the Prince family for their generosity and their intention to make Hanukkah a truly "giving" holiday.

November 17, 2008

Somethin’s Cookin’

In our November 10 diary entry, Mitzvah Goreret Mitzvah, we wrote about three religious/day schools that joined together to make it possible for a new school in the flood-ravaged Mississippi Gulf Coast to purchase overhead projectors for six of their classrooms. While we are waiting for the projectors to be delivered, one of the religious schools, Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles, wanted to do some more mitzvahs with their tzedakah (these kids are very impressive tzedakah-collectors under the guidance of their director, our good friend, Vinny Green).

By the strangest of coincidences, it seems that Libby Reichman who heads up Big Brothers, Big Sisters in Israel (http://www.bigbrothers.org.il), had a special request which the Wilshire Boulevard kids were more than glad to fulfill…one of the "littles" who is part of the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program is "Shani," a 12 year-old Russian immigrant. Shani and her parents came to Israel several years ago but her father was very abusive and eventually jailed, leaving Shani and her Mom completely isolated and in despair-with no family and very few friends to help them. Mom and daughter struggle in many, many ways, both economically and with health issues, and up until recently have been living in extreme circumstances in a very poor apartment with few comforts. Through the efforts of several different people, Shani and her Mom have moved to a fresh, bright apartment and Libby felt that a brand new stove would be a very special gift for this family that has never had anything new at all.

So, with the help of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple students a new stove will be purchased for the family AND the students will also send several of their favorite recipes (written in both Hebrew and English) so Shani and her Mom can not only try out their new oven but also know that they are not alone, that there are generous kids in California who wanted to make their lives a little bit better.

Yasher koach to the WBT school…awesome tzedakah work!

November 14, 2008

Hotel as Home

Travelers who visited Jerusalem many years ago will remember the famous Diplomat Hotel where luxurious suites and beautiful views of the surrounding hillsides could catch your breath. As often happens to hotels that are not properly maintained, the Diplomat lost its luster, fell into disrepair and eventually became an absorption center where (mostly) Russian olim (immigrants) settled in single rooms that still offered those amazing views, but not much else. The elderly residents were grateful for the chance to live in Israel and somehow overlooked the cramped quarters where they had but four walls and a bathroom in which to spend their days.

Life for these people-many were formerly teachers and doctors and professors and scientists before they left the FSU for better times in Israel-changed dramatically when a former Canadian named Alice Jonah happened to offer to fill in as a volunteer for a friend who was an activity director at the "hotel-turned-home". It turned out that the friend never returned to the Diplomat and Alice became an integral part of life there. Working first as a volunteer and then as an employee, Alice turned this little village into a caring community. She instituted an ulpan (Hebrew language class), a beautiful choir that performs throughout the country, exercise classes, computer lessons, trips-meaningful social and cultural opportunities for the residents to enjoy. At one time, Alice actually organized the group to protest the Egged bus company’s refusal to move the bus stop closer to the hotel so that the elderly residents did not have to climb a steep hill to reach the buses that would take them to other parts of the city. As expected, the protest was successful and the bus stop was moved closer to the hotel’s entrance!

Perhaps, Alice’s greatest achievement was the formation of a group of residents who became "home health aides" for the weaker residents who needed a few hours of extra care each day. To Alice (and the residents) this was a win-win situation. Using donated funds, Alice was able to pay a modest wage to those who offered their help (who live and the recipients benefited from the extra care they received daily.

When Alice wrote today mentioning that her funds to underwrite this very important activity were running low, we were happy to be able to tell her that we would forward additional money to keep this truly important activity going. It helps everyone!

November 13, 2008

SUNDAY (and Monday, and Tuesday, and Wednesday, and ….) FRIENDS

Twelve years ago, Janis Baron was a typical suburban Mom with three teenage kids enjoying a comfortable life in sunny California. The one "problem" that gnawed away at her was that her kids never really knew adversity-not that she wanted them to be anything other than happy, but she knew that they really had to learn how others lived-that everyone did not lead an easy and comfortable life. She also knew that volunteerism, which was an important part of her own life, was something her kids and many of their friends never really experienced.

With the hope that she could somehow change that situation, Janis arranged to take her kids and some of their friends to a nearby homeless shelter where her hope was that the kids would interact and develop a connection. She could not have been more disappointed with the outcome-the shelter kids just did not "connect" with their visitors. But…that all changed when she came up with the idea of having the kids work together to clean up the grounds around the shelter. The reward for cleaning up was stickers which seemed to somehow inspire the kids (and then their parents) to do more. From cleaning up to creating original artwork to beautify the shelter, Janis had discovered the key to a successful program.

Today, Sunday Friends runs a twice-monthly program in a local San Jose school. The program attracts the area’s poorest families (mostly first or second generation immigrants) who work together with volunteers "empowering families in need to break the cycle of poverty. Children and parents earn basic necessities while they contribute to their community, learn life skills and develop self-sufficiency." Just how they "contribute to their community" is accomplished by offering the participants classes in parenting, developing a good work ethic, perfecting job skills and other critical "life lessons". One of the activities that I particularly like is when kids and/or parents sit down to write thank you notes to donors who contribute to Sunday Friends. Here they learn several skills not the least of which is to perfect their language and writing.

In return for participation in the day’s program, participants earn credits which they can use in the "Sunday Friends Treasure Chest". What is in this treasure chest? The very important basic necessities everyone needs-diapers, school supplies, personal items.

The Sunday Friends model works. A visit to their web site describes many successful pieces of this program that change lives not only for the participants but also for the volunteers who contribute their time to make it all happen. San Jose, California (where Sunday Friends is located) is not unlike many other parts of this country. Think of how many people could be helped if this model was adopted in other regions.

In our conversation with Janis Baron today, we asked her what a donation would do right now to help her in her work. Her email response said it all:

OF COURSE, we can use $500 for the holiday season! Our families’ greatest need, to be honest, is for enough consumable products, such as diapers, toiletries and laundry detergent, to get them through the long break between our December 14 program and the January 11 program.

We are hoping to receive enough gifts from our community to sweeten the holidays, but our donors are turning their attention to toys right now and neglecting the ongoing basic needs. We want our families, some of whom are losing jobs in this trying economy, to be able to make ends meet until the new opportunities arrive in the new year. They are earning and saving their tickets and hoping to find the needed commodities in our Treasure Chest. Your donation of $500 will allow me to say YES instead of NO to fully stocking our "store" with the basic necessities this December.

Please visit http://www.sundayfriends.org/ to learn more about Janis’ dream…we think you will be impressed.