July 21, 2008

Hoop Dreams

Bar and Bat Mitzvah kids never cease to amaze us with the originality of their mitzvah project creations. Some time ago we spoke with a family in Kansas…the Bar Mitzvah boy was a huge basketball fan and wanted to use that interest in some way to help kids in Israel. He also had some friends who wanted to join in the effort so we suggested a possible connection to The Forgotten People Fund-an all-volunteer group that works in Netanya where there is a large Ethiopian population, most living in very poor surroundings. The FPF volunteers, led by our friends Aida Miller and Anne and David Silverman, establish personal relationships with many individuals and families and help provide them with so many needs-food, education costs, health education, clothing…the list is endless and they truly make a difference. When we put the boys in touch with Aida it did not take long before they came up with a plan. With the funds the boys would raise, a court that had fallen into disrepair at a nearby school in Netanya could be rehabilitated with working lights, resurfacing and possible seating. In addition, the boys purchased 30 basketball jerseys with the team name printed on them and these were hand-delivered to Aida this summer when a local Rabbi traveled to Israel. As one of the boy’s mothers recently wrote …this was a winner of a project all the way around:

Valerie’s boys raised money by hosting mini basketball camps at their home. Mothers in the neighborhood paid the twins to watch their children for a few hours and play basketball with them. Jake and Ethan raised money by "flipping" for FPF. They made a poster highlighting the efforts of FPF and the Ethiopians it serves. They gave a brief introduction about their project, and then collected money from participants at various Jewish events in the community. They played a short game (using a coin flip) and gave the winner a small prize. (The game is actually very clever, so I’ll be happy to provide more details if you need them.)

The bottom line is that the boys raised over $500 on their own. They each decided to donate a percentage of their monetary gifts as well. We hope to send you a check for over $1,000, and the boys are so proud of themselves. We’ve sent photos to Aida of the boys, and she’s sent us photos of the Ethiopian youth. It’s been a wonderful sharing kind of experience. Ethan has expressed to me that he hopes to go to Israel someday soon to see the fruits of his labors and play basketball with the Sapir team!

Yasher koach boys!

July 17, 2008

Christmas (or Hanukkah) in July and More …

A few weeks ago a friend came upon a fabulous collection of brand new kids’ toys…everything still boxed and sure to make a child happy. She called me asking if we knew of a good home for these special treats.

Of course, this was not a difficult task to complete. I sent an email to my friend Jeannie Jaybush at Baby Corner and she was more than happy to help find good homes for five cartons of stuffed animals, toys, dolls, puzzles and so much more. Baby Corner in Seattle 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.

Today, Jeannie wrote to let us know that the boxes arrived and, as usual, they were a real hit!

Also, yesterday about Noon the boxes arrived! … One of the RN’s was here picking up something else & got that "oh goody" look in her eyes when I started to open them. She took 3 of the toys for the siblings of some of the babies that are with Mom in treatment. … She’s usually here 2-3 times each week for "stuff" for the babies, hopeful that there’s "stuff" for the older siblings, or something for Mom to try to get her in to treatment… It’s a real difficult caseload & the outcomes are often less than ideal. Lots of jail time, taking the baby away from Mom, mental health problems (she’s even had to talk women off the high bridges where they were going to jump to commit suicide), and of course, baby deaths. So, the toys are going out the door less than 10 minutes after delivery! The rest will follow shortly I’m sure

Thanks again for the toys. Nobody has had new toys since Christmas & the kids are thrilled with anything. The dollies will be especially loved. I’m off to count teddy bears etc!

One of the other ways we enjoy helping Jeannie and the new mothers is by providing them with nursing bras. Who would have thought? Jeannie tells us that a proper nursing bra is almost unheard of…the cost is prohibitive for poor women, but the difference they make is unbelievable on so many different levels. I asked Jeannie if she still had a supply and, as is usually the case, the answer was, "No!" They are a very popular item with the nurses Jeannie works with. It was time to send a new supply and when I told Jeannie I would get a new order out to her she responded as she always does, with great joy and appreciation:

You & the nursing bras are very popular & we’re still getting women crying over the new undies. The nurses keep telling me to remember to thank you for them whenever they come in to pick up….thank you, thank you, & thank you again!!!

Jeannie

July 15, 2008

1-2-3 Done! Revisited

On July 10 this diary shared the story of our involvement in shipping a trailer of food and grocery items to Postville, Iowa where many former immigrant workers from the Agriprocessors plant remain while awaiting trial or deportation. A press release about the joint effort to get this food to Iowa was prepared and to our great surprise picked up by the JTA (Jewish Telegraph Agency). We have already received several calls from people who saw the article and want to help. We are in the process of investigating further ways that we might be able to offer support to the workers and those who have taken on the responsibility of helping them. We will share our plans as they materialize. What follows is a link to the JTA article:

http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/109458.html

July 10, 2008

1-2-3 Done!

Much has been written and debated since mid-May when it comes to the tragic situation in Postville, Iowa where a federal raid led to the arrest of several hundred illegal workers in the Agriprocessors meat-packing plant. We have followed many news releases and spoken directly to some of those who are directly involved in the aftermath of the raid.

Despite the obvious disagreements about who is responsible and why this has happened, one fact cannot be denied-this is a human tragedy and many men, women and particularly innocent children have suffered (in ways that are extraordinarily harsh).

The Good People Fund was committed to helping these people…the question that loomed was how we could help in a way that was direct and would have the greatest impact. It was only through the help of our board member, Peter Freimark, (see diary entry of May 26 to learn of Peter’s other efforts on behalf of people who are in need) who made contact with the people at St. Bridget’s Church that we discovered a possible need that we could meet. St. Bridget’s, the local Catholic church in this tiny town became a refuge for the families whose husbands or wives (or even children) were arrested and taken away during the raid. With no income while waiting for trials and eventual possible deportation, many people have been left in what can only be described as dire straits. St. Bridget’s and other local churches and agencies have been pressed into service well beyond what they could normally handle. A truckload of food and grocery items for their pantry would be a welcome source of support.

Our friend Joe Lordi who has been running the Youngstown, Ohio-based Gleaner’s Food Bank for many years graciously donated food that filled a 53′ trailer. Peter’s synagogue, Temple Israel-Ner Tamid in Mayfield Heights, OH shared the shipping costs and yesterday morning, Peter and Joe loaded 24 pallets of food and grocery items onto the truck which immediately left for Postville. By 2pm today, we received word that the truck had arrived and was being unloaded!

1-2-3 done! Hungry people will be fed.

The Postville situation has many complexities and addresses serious issues within our society. We offer the following links to a few of the more thoughtful and informative articles we have seen. Please take a few minutes to read them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/11/us/11immig.html

The Young Victims of Iowa ICE Raids:
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=b3562e0069bc618cd178f8fb06c8473c

July 09, 2008

More Dreams

More Dreams Back on April 28 I introduced you to a fabulous organization, Second Wind Dreams, (http://www.secondwind.org) which helps to make dreams come true for residents in closed-care institutions. At that time I shared that the Good People Fund was going to contribute funds to help make a wedding for a couple that had been married 60 years ago in City Hall on the eve of the groom’s deployment to the warfront. While that wedding took place a few weeks ago and we are awaiting photos to share with you, we did receive notice of this new dream and thought it was just too good to keep to ourselves. Read on to learn how 88 year-old Morris Rowe got to share "war stories" with veteran actor, Ernest Borgnine….it’s a winner!

Actor grants fellow WW II veteran’s wish to meet him

The Patriot-News – PennLive.com – Harrisburg, PA, USA

Someone from Grayson View Assisted Living facility in Swatara Twp., where Rowe lives, contacted Second Wind Dreams, a nonprofit organization based in …

July 07, 2008

The Maytag Repairman

Monday mornings…they always bring surprises and this Monday, after a long holiday weekend, was no different.

Shortly before 8am on the West Coast, irwin Herman, our friend who is known by the name The Bookman, was on the lline. Talking to Irwin is always a treat. Once an appliance repairman in cold and windy Chicago, Irwin and his wife retired to sunny San Diego…figuring anything was better than Chicago’s frigid winters! It didn’t take long before Irwin realized that retirement was not for him. It took a visit with a friend to a nearby prison for Irwin to discover something that really "got him". The friend delivered books to prison inmates who truly appreciated these "gifts". Books….something we all have in abundance and something for which we all are usually trying to find good homes. One thing led to another and soon Irwin is making stops at garage sales and book stores and anywhere else he can find books at greatly reduced prices. As one could imagine, it did not take long before Irwin ran out of space to store all of these tomes and he had to find even more storage space.

Where did the books go? It was not difficult to find good homes…schools, prisons, libraries and more. As The Bookman’s website (http://WWW.THEBOOKMAN.ORG) says…"donates new and used books to children and adults around the world who do not have easy access to reading material." (visit the site-it tells you the whole story about Irwin and his crew of volunteers who spend their days collecting books and getting them to people who will enjoy reading them.

Back to Irwin’s call–he was calling to thank us for the check that the Good People Fund just sent to help them do their work. It is money we know will be well-spent. Irwin also shared how excited he was about a young San Diego Bar Mitzvah child who came to him and asked if he could have books to help set up a library in Israel. This was the boy’s mitzvah project. When Irwin saw the child’s excitement and interest in making this library a reality he "let the boy loose in his warehouse to pick out whatever books he needed." The project was so successful that when the Bar Mitzvah guests heard what had been done, they sent checks to The Bookman so that the good work could continue!

And, here is Irwin! Enjoy!