A Daily Dose of Kindness
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
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* A local charity organization in Ramat Beit Shemesh has been helping to organize volunteers to help our brothers who were recently evicted from their homes in Gush Katif, Gaza. It has been amazing to hear of professionals taking time off from work to spend full days helping these people. Psychologists and social workers have gone to counsel both adults and children. People have gone to a variety of locations to assist in any way possible – packing, unpacking, schlepping, entertaining displaced children, etc., etc.
A handyman recently apologized on a local e-mail list to any customers who had been trying to reach him – he was temporarily unavailable as he was in Atzmona in Gush Katif, helping former residents dismantle their hothouses so that they could salvage as much as possible to try to rebuild their livelihoods.
The residents of Gush Katif are not used to being on the receiving end. The director of the aforementioned charity organization, which until now has serviced only local, Ramat Beit Shemesh residents, said a couple of weeks ago that he asked the truck driver who delivers donated vegetables why that week he only had cucumbers and potatoes when he usually brought so much more than that. The driver replied, "All the other donations used to come from Gush Katif. Tons and tons. Literally ten trucks a day…"
If anyone is able to contribute to help the former residents of Gush Katif, who until now, had been helping to feed the poor across Israel, donations can be made through Lema’an Achai, as follows:
Israel Tax Deductible Donations should be made out to "Lema'an Achai", earmarked "Gush Katif Fund", and sent to:
Lema'an Achai (RBS), 40/7 Nachal Lachish, Ramat Beit Shemesh 99093, ISRAEL.
Secure Online Donations: Go to: http://www.lemaanachai.org/donate.asp#Online
Credit Card Donations: Call (+972-2) 999.99.33 for Credit Card Donations 24 hours a day
US Dollar Check requiring US Tax Deduction:
Please make checks payable to:
"American Friends of Lema’an Achai"; on Memo Line indicate: "Gush Katif Fund"
c/o Simon Fleischer
35 West 96th St #1F
New York, NY 10025
UK Tax Deductible Donations: should be made payable to "The Jewish Aid Committee" and mailed to Lema'an Achai (RBS) in Israel.
Canadian Tax Deductible Donations: should be made payable to "Shaarei Tefillah" and mailed to Lema'an Achai (RBS) in Israel.
It reminds me of that story of the miser that no one knew was a "ball tzedakah" until he passed away. So too unfortunately all the communities in the south of Israel (and evidently as far north as Beit Shemesh?) are now receiving much less produce in the weekly deliveries given to needy families ... because the givers have been evicted and dispersed. Friendss in Netivots and Shederot say this is just the tip of the iceberg. The farmers of Gush Katif were very successful, but they shared their wealth, something the communities of the Negev will now feel dramatically with its loss!
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