Table of Contents
Return to Previous Section | Continue Report
 

II. Some Highlights - Specially-Featured Heroes and Projects

A. THE RADIANCE OF TZADEKET ($25,500)
We have been writing about the Rabbanit Kapach since 1975. To those who meet her, she is the essence of All That Is Good in the World. Her very face radiates peace, tranquillity and goodness. Though small in stature, she is a Giant in spirit and Menschlichkeit. Her work knows no bounds - feeding and clothing hungry people, providing a beautiful gown for the bride who cannot afford her own, teaching God's word, or running a summer camp for kids who would otherwise have no respite from the summer's boredom in the hot, crowded city. She does it all - what we would call a "full-service agency." A typical visit with the Rabbanit is unforgettable. Her home is a whirl-wind of activity - phones ringing, doorbells announcing the arrival of someone who needs some food for Shabbat or a critically-needed 50 or 100 Shekels, and, with it all, the sweet and tangy aroma of her Yemenite food cooking in the kitchen.

At Passover, she mobilizes a huge group of volunteers who help her pack up approximately 4,500 packages of food. So many people stand in line waiting for this much-needed gift that it takes strategically-placed experts to cordon off the streets around the distribution site.

As we were preparing this report, the Rabbanit called from Jerusalem. Her news? She had just received a call from Israel's Minister of Education informing her that she has been selected to receive the coveted Israel Prize, the "Nobel Prize" of Israel. Who would be surprised? She exemplifies all that is Good and Right in the World.

[The Rabbanit Bracha Kapach, 12 Lod St., Jerusalem, phone: 02-624-9296. She has incorporated her work as "Keren Segulat Naomi," Tax-deductible contributions (minimum of $25) through PEF-Israel Endowments, Inc., 317 Madison Ave., #607, NY, NY 10017, 212-599-1260.]

B. AN AMAZING BAR MITZVAH PROJECT ($250)
We never tire of telling David Levitt's incredible story. It is especially meaningful to the many classes of B'nai Mitzvah students that we meet during the year. When he was 11 years old, David needed to find a project that would put the "Mitzvah" into his Bar Mitzvah experience. While eating lunch in his school's cafeteria, he often noticed the enormous waste of food that occurred on a daily basis. Putting on his best "Mitzvah-thinking-cap," David decided to ask the school board if the leftover food could be gathered up and donated to hungry people. That was the beginning of David's project, Food For Thought. Though everyone told him that the board would not agree, David managed to convince them that this was a do-able program. Starting on the local county level, David managed, in but a few years, to get 105 of the county's 155 schools into the program. Not satisfied with that effort, David started working with a member of the Florida state legislature. Their goal? To require that all public schools in the state of Florida retrieve leftovers from the lunchroom and donate them to the appropriate pantries, shelters, or soup kitchens. While it might sound like an impossible task for a teenager, David persevered. This past summer David received a phone call from Lawton Chiles, now deceased, but then Governor of the State of Florida. He had just signed into law the very legislation that made David's dream a reality. David's age? Now, almost a ripe old 17!

Our contribution was directed to the work of Tampa Bay Harvest, the organization that helped David with his project.
We cannot emphasize enough how important David's lessons are to our kids. We urge you to be in touch with David and find out how you can duplicate his efforts in your community.

[David Levitt, 9603 108th Ave., N., Largo, FL 33773, 727-398-1766, e-mail: celebrate9@aol.com, Website: at the Giraffe Project Site www.giraffe.org/giraffe/levitt.htm. Contributions made out to: "Help for the Harvest," to be sent to David at the address listed.]

C. SHOES, SHOES AND MORE SHOES ($30,000)
Ranya Kelly is an inspiration. As we visit communities throughout the country, more and more people recognize the tale of the Shoe Woman of Denver. The subject of articles in several national magazines and television programs, Ranya's life changed dramatically 14 years ago. Needing to mail a gift, she searched a nearby dumpster, hoping to find a cardboard box. Ranya was stunned when she discovered more than 500 pairs of brand-new shoes in that container. She invited family and friends to take what they wanted, but there were still hundreds of pairs of shoes left. It was only after a visit to a local homeless shelter that Ranya realized the importance of her discovery. She turned over the remaining shoes to the shelter, visited more dumpsters located outside of shoe stores, and made similar discoveries. Now Ranya no longer visits dumpsters. She has redistributed more than 640,000 pairs of brand-new shoes, all donated by local businesses or manufacturers. And, her work does not stop with shoes. At any one time, you can find all manner of merchandise in her storage bins - clothing, bedding, baby equipment, food, building supplies, office equipment, bedding plants (yes, bedding plants) and much, much more.

Last year, Ranya received $3.8 million dollars' (salvage value dollars) worth of perfectly usable goods destined for the landfill. (Salvage value is 1/3 to 1/2 the retail value.) It is impossible to calculate the impact of her work. We can only guess how many lives have changed; how many kids have gone off to school with a smile because they have clothing and shoes that they can feel comfortable in, how many babies are safely nestled in a crib, how many people have protection from winter's cold winds because of the thousands of coats she has retrieved.

We are the main support for Ranya's good work, and the dollar-return is staggering: $126.67 for every $1.00 we invest in her efforts.

We tell Ranya's story for many, many reasons. She represents humanity at its best. She is a fine example of humility and determination. We also share her work because we firmly believe that what Ranya is doing in Denver is easily replicated anywhere in this country. If she is able to retrieve $3,800,000 of merchandise with a budget of around $30,000, how much more could be saved all over the country if there were other Ranyas out there? It is NOT impossible. It CAN be done. Someone needs to Just Do It.

[Ranya Kelly, c/o The Redistribution Center, 7736 Hoyt Circle, Arvada, CO 80005, 303-431-0904, fax: 424-3368.]

D. NURSING HOME REVOLUTION - DR. WILLIAM THOMAS' BREAKTHROUGH ($3,474.45)
We have followed Dr. Bill Thomas' work in nursing home reform for several years. People in our audience or those who read my books know just how Important we believe his work to be. Bill's program, the Eden Alternative, is designed to make nursing homes places where our Elders go to Live, not a place where they go to Die. Our visit to an Eden home last year was exciting. We were greeted by a friendly and curious dog and immediately spied a furry cat resting at the foot of one of the residents. The halls were home to several aviaries filled with chirping finches and parakeets. Many of the residents' rooms also had birds, personally cared for by the room's occupant. Plants, plants and more plants filled the home, as well. The lower level of this particular home was the site for a pre-school whose students made regular visits to the residents "upstairs." The benefits of such a home? The Eden homes have fewer infections, use significantly less medication, and have a lower rate of staff turn-over than other homes. To date, the states of Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina have committed to "Edenizing" their state-run homes and more homes are in the planning stages. If you are interested in learning more about this incredible program, Bill Thomas has written two books: Life Worth Living: How Someone You Love Can Still Enjoy Life in a Nursing Home and (soon to be released) Open Hearts, Open Minds (VanderWyk & Burnham Publishers). The former is available in bookstores, as well as through the publisher. (978-263-5906, e-mail: publicom@tiac.net.)

[The Eden Alternative, c/o Dr. William Thomas, 742 Turnpike Rd., Sherburne, NY 13460, 607-674-5232, fax: 674-6723, e-mail: eden@norwich.net, Website: www.edenalt.com.]

We recently learned of the work of the Committee to End Elder Homelessness, Inc. in Boston. The founders of CEEH recognize the difficulty many Elders have maintaining good physical and mental health if they do not have proper living accommodations. As a result, they have opened several homes in the area which provide apartments and social services to these fragile Elders. For further information on this program or to learn how you can start a similar program in your community, call Ruth Ann Espo, 617-369-1550.

E. MAKING DREAMS COME TRUE ($5,000)
When we learned about P.K. Beville and Second Wind Dreams our first response was, "Why not? What a fabulous idea!" P.K. knows quite well what life is like in a nursing home. Her professional job frequently brings her to nursing homes. On her visits, P.K. often saw the residents' loneliness and boredom. She was sure that the residents must have wishes or dreams that they would like to have realized. Many times a new dress, a radio, a fishing trip to a local lake or a visit with a long-missed sibling is all that is needed to put new meaning into their lives. With this idea in mind, Second Wind Dreams was born. Now beginning its third year, Second Wind Dreams has been instituted in 239 homes in 31 states. In a Second Wind Dreams home one of the staff is designated as the "Dream Weaver." It is the Dream Weaver's responsibility to make the dreams come true. Though most of the dreams cost less than $25.00, the smile and uplift that they generate is worth a million bucks! This is a perfect project for a religious school to become involved in. A call to Second Wind will answer all of your questions.

[Second Wind Dreams, 4031 Willows Way, Marietta, GA 30062, Attn: P.K. Beville, 770-977-3528, e-mail: gatric@aol.com, Website: www.secondwind.org.]

F. SONGS FOR KIDS ($4,700)
We met John Beltzer shortly after he started his project, Songs of Love. Since January, 1996, John and his growing band of volunteer composers, musicians and performers have written over 1,000 personalized songs for kids with life-threatening illnesses. The impact their work has had upon these youngsters is incredible. Nothing can compare to the smile that appears on the face of one of these children when they hear the professionally recorded song that describes all of their favorite things. John's goal is to have every doctor in this country caring for a seriously ill child to be able to "write a prescription" for a song and have that prescription "filled" by one of John's volunteers. John's greatest need is for composers with their own recording facilities. If you know of a child facing a life-threatening illness, have his or her family contact John to arrange for a personalized song.
You can join in spreading the word to pediatricians, oncologists, and other healthcare professionals who might know of kids who need these songs.

[John Beltzer, President, Songs of Love, Inc., POB 750809, Forest Hills, NY 11375, 800-960-SONG (= 7664), or phone/fax: 718-997-8482, e-mail: songslove@aol.com, Website: www.songsoflove.org.]


G. FOOD FROM ROCK CONCERTS AND MORE ($2,100)
Syd Mandelbaum started Rock and Wrap It Up! in 1994. Since that time he has learned that you can take a good idea and make it even better. Originally developed to retrieve leftover food from rock concerts, RWU's statistics are staggering. More than 130 bands have helped donate over 1,800,000 pounds of food that have been picked up from concerts and fed to over 5 million people. Now, RWU's same principles are being used in Project We Share!, corporate America's response to hunger; Project It's A Wrap!, retrieving food from the film, commercial, and fashion industry; and Everyone Wins on Election Night!, working with the Republican and Democratic National Committees picking up leftovers from election night parties. We urge you to visit their website where you can learn about Syd's work, the Rock and Wrap It Up! School Program and College Wrap! Program, and - more importantly - get step-by-step instructions on how to retrieve leftovers from school cafeterias.

[Rock and Wrap it Up!, Attn: Syd Mandelbaum, 405 Oceanpoint Ave., Cedarhurst, NY 11516, 800-791-4064, fax: 516-295-3848, e-mail: ruler@delphi.com, Website: www.rockandwrapitup.org.]

H. GRANDMA EDIE LEWIS ($2,100)
This past summer, we were delighted to welcome Grandma Edie Lewis and Koe, her "adopted" grandson to the CAJE (Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education) Conference. Standing nearly six feet tall, Grandma was a formidable presence. She met with many educators who listened with rapt attention to her story of how she saves those whom society has turned away. Gang members, the unloved, runaways, substance abusers and thieves all fell for Grandma's special "tough love." One young person in particular, Koe Jones, a former gang member, always was her "star." Grandma's House was a safe haven for all. In her special way she gained their trust and got them back on track - into school, a real job, wherever they could become productive members of society. Her tale never failed to evoke tears of compassion in the audience. We always looked forward to speaking with her by phone. Her particular brand of homespun wisdom was an inspiration. And so, we were stunned and devastated this past October when the call came that Grandma had died after her car was hit by a driver running a red light. It doesn't seem possible that this pillar of light and hope has been taken from us. Grandma's House is no longer. Those who lived there have scattered. Koe continues at Peru State University, determined to fulfill the goals and expectations that Grandma encouraged. Our contribution will be used to subsidize Koe's college education and career plans. Brayton Campbell, one of Grandma's closest advisors and friends, is supervising this effort on Koe's behalf.

[Brayton Campbell, 1641 CR 266, McKinney, TX 75069, 214-761-5139 (o), 972-562-1964 (h), email: camp026@ibm.net. Contributions to be made out to: "Prestonwood Rotary Club/Koe Jones Educational Fund."]

Return to Previous Section | Continue

2002 Annual Report | Curriculum | Books | Links | 116 Mitzvah Suggestions
top of page