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Right before the holiday began (September 14, 2009 Diary), we wrote about the many people who were going to enjoy a festive celebration because of the funds we were able to provide for supermarket gift cards. We had forgotten to mention one other group that we were able to help in Israel, and when I opened on of this morning’s emails, this picture was a reminder of another group that benefited from our donors’ generosity.

The young girls in this picture are part of the all-volunteer group that works with Darchei Tzion, a small food pantry located in Beit Shean, one of Israel’s poorer communities located in the area of the Jordan Valley. Best known for its amazing archeological sites, Beit Shean is also home to many poor families and individuals who struggle to survive. We met the good people who run this pantry through our friend Yitz Feigenbaum who co-directs Beit Hayeled, the group home for troubled children on nearby Kibbutz Meirav. When we visited Israel last winter we were impressed with the very simple but effective efforts Darchei Tzion makes on behalf of the residents of this city. The fact that the group relies on many volunteers to accomplish their goal of easing hunger, only made their efforts more appealing.

With Yitz’s help, we were able to provide the funds for the purchase of some of the food that went into the packages (actually, lots and lots of schnitzel!) and this picture (along with several others we were sent) shows just what a volunteer-effort this is.

We were honored to be able to be part of their good work!

Dearest Naomi

Received today the tlushim! (supermarket gift cards) As always your help is in the right moment. Be blessed by all the families that will enjoy holiday, thanks to you

Zev

This was one of the many emails we discovered this morning as the day’s work began. It is from Zev Birger who helps many, many poor families in the Romema neighborhood in Jerusalem. The cards Zev received from us only this morning are now, no doubt, in the hands of the individuals who will shop for holiday food in the next few days. Zev is one of several "angels" we rely upon to distribute the cards where needed.

With the holidays fast upon us, we have been busy buying supermarket gift cards both in Israel and here in the States and getting them into the hands of people we know who would otherwise have a difficult time preparing a festive meal for themselves and their families. Due to an unexpected generous donation which came to us last week, we were thrilled to be able to increase the number of people who received this extra help for holiday food.

Here in the States, I just mailed off many envelopes filled with gift cards for local markets. All went to Shoah survivors or Second Generation men and women who live on very meager incomes and for whom holiday shopping would be difficult.

As we all sit down to our holiday meals this coming Shabbat and weekend, we are grateful for the generosity of our donors who have allowed us to provide others with this same simple pleasure.

I am coming to the end of a long day at my desk but the phone call I just received could not have made me happier or more firmly convinced that the work that we do makes all the difference to so many people, many of them lonely with no one who really cares about their well-being.

The call was from Darla Oz who with her husband, "Oz", runs House to House in Jerusalem.(http://housetohouseisrael.org). Back on May 11, I shared the following story in this Diary:

…While catching up with Darla in an early morning call today, we learned about a small hotel in Jerusalem which is home to almost 200 elderly Shoah survivors, many of them ill and lonely. Darla shared that in a conversation with the social worker at the site; she learned…that for many of these elders birthdays are rarely celebrated-no gifts, no cards…just a lonely day like any other. The social worker also told Darla that many residents wished that the local grocer (who brings basic food items to the hotel lobby each Friday so that everyone can come down and shop) would include some fresh cheese in his weekly visits. They truly missed enjoying a piece of fresh cheese! In about 30 seconds Darla and I decided that each of these residents should enjoy a nice chunk of fresh cheese, and what better time for them to receive one than on their birthday! Darla also asked if it would be possible to get birthday cards for each of them and we promised we would enlist as many teachers as possible in this simple act of chesed.

This afternoon, Darla called to tell me how she and her friend, a cab driver, made their way over to the hotel with the first batch of gifts for all birthdays recently celebrated. The gift bags were beautiful. Darla had enlisted some women at the local women’s shelter who wrapped the soap bars with paper donated by a local shop, and another nearby shop had given Darla a deep discount on the jars of preserves (there were 10 flavors to choose from!). All Darla needed were the birthday cards which she managed to have done by two Russian women that she knew, along with a third that she met on the street!

The social worker called each resident down on the house phone and one by one they received their little gifts. (we should tell you that not one of these elders is younger than 80!) Nothing prepared Darla for the comments. One elderly man who is suffering from cancer and has had an arm amputated and has sight in only one eye, came for his gift and holding the bag in the stub of his arm, told her "I’ve never received anything at all…". Another elderly woman shared that it had been 40 years since she had last gotten a birthday present…

One additional comment Darla shared with me really hit me…she reminded me that so often the sparkle in our elders’ eyes dims as they age; in each of the people who came for their gifts you could not miss the light that shone when they opened their packages and saw the cards. It must have been a truly beautiful experience.

By the time this little mitzvah reaches all 197 residents of the hotel we can only imagine what comments, what joy and what happiness we engendered. Who would have thought?

PS-We are excited to add that the remaining birthday cards are going to be made by kids in several religious school classes here in the States and will be mailed to Darla so that she can put them in the next batch of gift bags.

It is hard to believe, but it is the first of September and in Israel schoolchildren are returning to their classrooms today…hopefully excited, though likely sad that the summer has ended and the real work begins.

For many families in Israel the beginning of school brings a new set of worries-how do they pay for school books and supplies? Unlike here in America, families must pay for their kid’s textbooks. When you add the cost of paper, pens, crayons and everything else that is needed, the burden can be too great for many, particularly families who have endured the never-ending trauma of terror attacks from prior years. Though years may have past, the economic and psychological impact never really ends.

For one woman, now a widow after her husband’s death at the hands of a terrorist while at work, the burden of providing her child with the textbooks needed for school is more than she can handle.

For another youngster about to enter the fourth grade, returning to school was something she did not want to do since she had been using some of the same supplies from her younger days and was now embarrassed by their juvenile appearance. Being in the fourth grade meant she should have things that were more "grown up".

One family of seven is still dealing with the serious losses they endured after their home in Sderot was hit by a Katushya rocket. They now have to live in a small apartment and both parents are without work due to cutbacks and the time they needed to take from work to help their children deal with the trauma of the attacks. For this family buying school supplies was beyond what they could afford.

We learned about these families and others through our friend Karyn London, the social worker who works with terror victims at ATZUM. (http://ATZUM.org) We know that whatever funds we send will be used quickly, efficiently and with the greatest respect for the recipients.

On January 6 of this year we shared the story of Homerun Hopefuls, a small program begun by Brett Kalikow, a young man from New York. In 2002 Brett, then a teenager, was vacationing with his family in the Dominican Republic. A big baseball fan and player, Brett left his resort in search of a local baseball game. As we shared back in January…"Nothing quite prepared him for what he discovered. Baseball, we know, is a very popular sport in the Dominican but sadly the way it is played is not always what we may recognize here. When Brett came upon a game, he saw kids using milk or juice cartons for mitts, rocks for balls and sticks for bats. The first thing Brett thought of was how much equipment he and his friends back in New York had lying around. Shoes, bats, balls, mitts, jerseys, t-shirts…who didn’t have tons of this in the basement, the attic, or stuck in the back of a closet? The answer was simple."

We loved Brett’s idea and contacted him immediately. After learning more about his work we donated funds to help underwrite his collection and distribution for this summer.

How excited we were to get Brett’s email last week. Along with some great pictures of the trip, including the one above, Brett reported that he had 8 collection drives this year, half of which were organized by teenagers who learned of Homerun Hopefuls and joined the effort. Brett and two teens traveled to the Dominican Republic in July bringing with them the following very impressive list which was distributed to 20 baseball leagues and school programs in the very poorest parts of the country…430 baseballs, 117 gloves, and 197 bats, in addition to sneakers, socks, t-shirts and pants.

If baseball is your passion why not contact Brett and see how you can help? Brett tells me that he already has two Bar Mitzvah kids on board for this year’s collection. We are sure he would love to have even more equipment to distribute on next year’s trip to the Dominican Republic. (http://homerunhopefuls.org)

It was not difficult to hear the sadness and disappointment in Anita Shkedi’s voice when she called recently to share that she had lost funding for one of her longest running therapy groups at INTRA-Israel National Therapeutic Riding Association. The loss of funding was directed to the therapy she offers to the severely disabled. (http://intra.org.il) Here was just one more example of how the economy was affecting the most vulnerable. Anita shared that it was this group for whom the wonders of therapeutic riding seemed to make the most difference. Though the changes were often slow to come about and might seem insignificant to those of us who are able-bodied and independent, in truth, the therapy’s benefits were huge.

Anita went on to tell me the story of one of the riders who was affected by this loss of funding– the beautiful little girl in this picture. Her name is Hila and she has CP (Cerebral Palsy) which leaves her partially paralyzed with little control over the right side of her body. After numerous surgeries she is still unable to open her eyelids and daily activities are beyond her abilities, though she can occasionally utter words she learns at home or at the INTRA center.

I could hear the pride in Anita’s voice as she shared Hila’s progress as well as the sadness knowing that it was all going to come to a quick and sad halt. Since Hila has been with INTRA she has learned to recognize her horse and even calls its name when she comes to her lesson. She can sit on the horse with the help of several staff and even take part in games which help her with her stability, self confidence, and motivation. During the therapy sessions she is encouraged to communicate verbally and non-verbally with the horse and this has taught her to stop the horse by lifting her left arm slightly. Grasping the reins and bringing the horse to a halt gives her a real sense of power and being in control. Despite the need to rely on her therapist and helpers, she has recently learned to use her left leg to encourage the horse to move.

Though we could not help all of the riders who were now unable to gain the benefits of therapeutic riding from Anita’s very professional staff, we could underwrite the cost of one and promised to send the funds right away. Perhaps it will be Hila and she will one day walk on her own? If you have ever watched therapeutic riding as it is carried out, it is not too hard to imagine such a miracle.