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January 1, 2009

War In Israel – How We All Can Help

Yesterday, as the year 2008 was coming to a close we received the following email from Barbara Silverman, the founder and inspiration behind A Package From Home. Barbara founded A Package From Home immediately after the start of the terror attacks in 2000. Dedicated to helping Israel’s chayalim bodedim (lone soldiers) and other soldiers, Barbara, with the help of volunteers, prepares packages which contain both essentials and some "treats" to provide some comfort to those who serve on the front lines. Now, more than ever, Barbara’s packages are so important to the soldiers’ physical and emotional well-being. While the following letter was written on December 31, we know that Barbara will continue to provide packages as long as the funds are available. If you can help, we urge you to do so…it is not an insignificant act on the part of those who want to help Israel’s soldiers as they protect the country.

December 31, 2008

Dear Friends of a Package from Home,

Barbara Bloom Silverman
Founder of a Package from Home
emess@netvision.net.il
011-972-2-623-2548

December 22, 2008

Sometimes It IS All In the Timing

A few days ago I sent an email to my dear friend Zev Birger in Jerusalem. Zev’s late wife, Trudi, was an angel who helped so many families in the very poor neighborhood of Romema. Years ago, Trudi was approached by Jerusalem’s late and famous mayor, Teddy Kollek, who begged her to help these families who had so little. In Trudi, Teddy saw that her fiery determination and drive would help her in this monumental task. Trudi’s goal was to provide the families with food, school supplies, extra funds for medicines…whatever was needed. But, most of all, she wanted to stop the cycle of poverty that was so pervasive and she knew the best way to do that was to help the children in each of these families receive a good education that would lift them out of poverty. Today, "Trudi’s kids" are professionals, teachers, technicians…and they support their own families because Trudi cared.

Sadly, Trudi died quite suddenly a few years ago and left her beloved husband Zev to carry on her work. Though Zev does not believe that he is as accomplished as his late wife, I know differently. He is as compassionate and caring as Trudi was and he has continued her work beautifully.

The email I received from Zev was very sad. As I have heard from so many of our programs, funds are scarce and so many people who have come to rely on Zev cannot be helped. He just does not have the funds to do what is needed. I responded to Zev’s plea by promising to send some funds.

Within a few hours of that exchange I called an old friend Kenny Kodish in Israel to check in on him and his family. Midway into the conversation, he asked me if I knew where his Hanukah tzedakah money could make a big difference. It did not take long to answer that question. I told him to check his email when we ended our conversation, and he would find the answer. I gave him Zev’s contact information and within an hour I learned that he and his beautiful children (all four of them!) would be paying Zev a visit the next day.

And so — I was not surprised when I received the following email from Zev just a few days later.

Hi Naomi

I met Kenny… he came by with his kids They are a great Mischpoche… wonderfull Children… I was able to finance five pair of shoes and pay something for medication, Kenny is a very nice and friendly person with a good JEWISH smile, His assistance to the families came in time and he and his children made a great mitzvah. May all of them be blessed for that. Me he gave a most wonderfull Gift: A BIG HUG FROM NAOMI !!! thanks my dear… Love Zev

Sometimes, it really is all in the timing…

December 15, 2008

A Sign of the Times

Until today, the headlines we all have been reading were painful to digest but still somewhat removed. With the collapse of the Madoff investments his past week there has been a seismic shift in the Jewish philanthropic world – something that many agree can never be recovered. Schools, hospitals, universities…it seems as if no one is unscathed by this disaster as the list of casualties rises hourly.

Behind the numbers, though, are real people with real needs that may never be met – and lives that may even be lost. Buried in the news of billions of dollars that have vanished (has anyone noticed that the "new billion" is really like the "old million"? – much like the new age of 60 is really "like the old 50"–numbers have taken on new meaning) are the stories of many non-profit organizations that work hard to improve and save people’s lives. One of the organizations that is reporting potential difficulties is a small but critically important non-profit called The Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation. What started in 1991 as a truly grass-roots effort-one family’s quest to find a suitable bone marrow donor for their son and brother, Jay Feinberg, has grown to a vital and critically important institution within the Jewish community. Today, Gift of Life can proudly claim that nearly 1500 people received a match through their efforts and over 125,000 have registered to be potential donors. In recent years, Gift of Life has begun a Jewish cord blood registry which can help save the lives of individuals who have been unsuccessful in finding bone marrow or stem cell matches. With both of these registries in place, Gift of Life has positioned itself as one of the pre-eminent sources of life-saving resources for Jews world-wide. It plays a critically important role in Jewish life today.

With the unfortunate events of the past week, Jay Feinberg and Gift of Life find themselves in a difficult position. While the organization did not lose funds, many, many of its principal donors have been adversely affected by recent events and will not be able to continue the important support that they have so generously offered in the past. We would like to hope that everyone realizes the importance Gift of Life holds to the Jewish community and we ask you to visit their web site, http://www.giftoflife.org/, read about the truly outstanding work they have accomplished and consider a donation to keep that work going. None of us will ever know when or if Gift of Life’s services could be the key to our own survival.

December 10, 2008

How Does a Hanukah Gift Beome a Birthday Party?

Turning a Hanukah Gift Into a Birthday Party

Who isn’t spending time right now trying to pick that perfect gift for someone, be it adult or child, who really doesn’t need anything? As I look around the homes of my kids and nieces and nephews I sometimes shudder at the number of toys and games to be found there. What could I possibly buy them that would make a difference? That might not get tossed aside after a few weeks’ play? There has to be something that I can do that will not only make these kids happy but also provide some happiness for needy kids.

We believe that Ruthie Luttenberg, founder of Birthday Angels in Israel, has found the answer. When Ruthie learned how many children never experience the joy of a birthday party (or even know their actual birth date!), she started Birthday Angels with the eventual goal of providing every needy child with this joyful experience. A $36 donation makes it possible for Ruthie’s volunteers to provide a school party for any child who has been referred. …and what a party it is! Ruthie’s creativity and acute sense of what is fun and magical is evident in every aspect of Birthday Angels. Visit her web site (http://www.birthday-angels.org/) and get the full story…it is a particularly meaningful way to celebrate Hanukah, a birthday or just about anything else. I know that the kids who I have honored with a donation to Birthday Angels will feel really good when they receive a thank you from the birthday child.

As one of the birthday children shared with Ruthie her own party, "When they complimented me one by one I almost cried. I didn’t know any one even noticed me before." (Smadar, 10 yrs. Old)

For an even more colorful look at Birthday Angels, we suggest you follow this link to a truly beautiful online brochure which was recently created for the organization by a very talented and generous graphics company. Kol Hakavod to everyone who took part in this special mitzvah!

http://www.dbrochures.biz/files/birthdayangels.exe

December 8, 2008

O Hanukah, O Hanukkah ….

It’s that time of year again…headlines may warn of impending doom and many, many people are feeling, in a most personal way, the effects of the economy’s downturn, but…Hanukah is approaching.

On September 8, this diary shared a story entitled, "Sometimes It Does Take a Village". In it we described the actions of two women in Jerusalem who have enlisted their neighbors’ help in caring for families in the area who are living on the edge economically. Each month they provide a supply of food to each family and on Rosh Hashonah and Pesach they try to add new shoes for the children. On Hanukah, they like to brighten the families’ lives with some special toys or games requested by each child.

This year, the Good People Fund will be sending funds to make many of those gifts possible…while dreidels and sufganiyot are surely fun, nothing quite takes the place of a real toy… a doll… a game.