The First Three Major Mitzvah Projects

and Your Need for Preliminary Research

Used Cellphones:

1. Why?  Old cellphones still dial “911”, and the service is free. Old and de-activated cell phones are donated to victims of domestic violence and other people in need, such as school bus drivers, crossing guards, elderly people living alone, and similar vulnerable individuals. 

2. How? Contact your local police domestic violence unit or the community’s domestic violence network – most will accept and donate the phones to the appropriate recipients. 

  A. Important: Ask your police domestic violence unit or domestic violence network how many phones are needed and proceed accordingly.  Always collect as many as you can — distributing them wisely is a relatively easy task. Keep in mind, also, that some groups that do not need more phones may be selling them for their salvage value (which is not what you may have wanted), so check carefully when you make the arrangements.        

B. Then: Having done your research, begin the collection at the synagogue, school, or other agency. Do not wait until you have large numbers of phones — take them in as frequently as possible as they come in.  Each may be a life-saving Mitzvah cellphone.

Kid Videos:

1. Why?  Kids in the hospital suffer from sickness, pain, fatigue, weariness of body and boredom of mind and soul.  Videos make a difference, a BIG difference.  Hospitals all have VCR’s, so videos are always in demand.

2. How?

 A. Set up a meeting with a local hospital to tell them you are planning to organize a drive to collect gently-used videos. 

B. The Breakthrough: Meryl Innerfield, a young woman celebrating her Bat Mitzvah in New York launched such a collection drive, but with the following all-important proviso — the child in the hospital gets to take the favorite video home.

C. This should be explained to the hospital staff, and only if they accept this condition, should you launch such a drive.  The obvious problem that they may run out of videos is not the child-patient’s problem, it is the problem of the community to keep supplying them.  After all, why should the child add one more element of unhappiness to the hospital experience by being told “No, you can’t take The Lion King home with you”?

D. Launch the drive in your synagogue, school, among friends.  Deliver the videos.  There are thousands and thousands of them out there waiting to be donated.

Infant Car Seats:

1. Why? There are so many families “out there” that do not have car seats for their infants, putting the child at great risk.

2. How?

A. Finding the place that will accept and distribute the car seats: Make phone calls, meet the people in charge of distribution. Start with local social service agencies, Jewish Family Service, and law enforcement departments.

B. Most Important, #1: Federal regulations concerning standards for car seat design have changed considerably over recent years.  You must announce in your written and oral presentations that many, if not most, of the car seats will be discarded because they do not meet federal regulations.  Nevertheless, stress that the ones that will be distributed will save many lives.

        C. Launch the drive.

Four More Major Mitzvah Projects

1. For Jews with Mental Illness

1. At Long Last, and Long Overdue: A national organization dealing with issues of mental illness in the Jewish community — Advocates for the Jewish Mentally Ill (AJMI). Contact Beulah Saideman, 215-947-7031, BeulahSaid@aol.com for information.

For Victims of Domestic Violence

2. Pro Bono Reconstructive Surgery: We have known about Dr. George Brennan’s work with victims of domestic violence for several years and were finally privileged to meet him personally last Spring at our Conference in Los Angeles. Dr. Brennan, a former president of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, informed us that there are approximately 275 members of his organization who perform reconstructive surgery free of charge for victims of domestic violence.  Spread the word to your local network.  For shelters and family members who are victims of domestic violence, con­tact: FACE TO FACE: The National Domestic Violence Project, 1-800-842-4546.  For information about the program, contact: Ann Holton, FACE TO FACE, 703-299-9291 X 229, aholton@aafprs.org.  Visit their website: www.facemd.org.

3. More Places of Refuge: Naomi Berman-Potash delights us with her creative Mitzvah thinking. Project Debby con­tinues to enlist hotels and motels across the country in the battle against domestic violence. When a local shelter is either full or non-existent, participating hotels provide a safe and clean room for women fleeing an abusive home situation. This is such a simple program, one can only wonder why it isn’t being done everywhere. Contact: Naomi Berman-Potash, Project Debby, Inc., 262-512-3399, nberman822@aol.com, www.projectdebby.com.

For Women Recovering from Breast Cancer Surgery

4. Fly Fishing, A Quiet Place to Talk: The masthead for Casting for Recovery’s newsletter describes their work “plain and simple”: Casting for Recovery — Fly-fishing retreats for women recovering from breast can­cer. This past year almost 100 women took part in eight separate retreats that brought them to­gether with other cancer patients.  They enjoyed companionship and support, as well as the op­portunity to engage in a sport whose very movements provide much-needed physical therapy after cancer surgery. A brilliant idea!   Contact: Casting for Recovery, Seline Skoug, toll-free phone: 888-553-3500, cfrprogram@aol.com, www.castingforrecovery.org.