Showing posts with label Donations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Donations. Show all posts

January 23, 2020

Help Victims Of Terror (Warning Graphic Content: Not For Children)

I don't usually do this, but I felt this situation truly merits your compassion and charitable giving. 

Niv Nehemia was the victim of terror in 2017 in this Israeli grocery.  He suffered "14 stab wounds to the head, chest, hands, and necks, including a cut in his esophagus."

The article appealing for help to cover his mounting medical costs appeared in the Jerusalem Post last week: Don't leave a hero behind.

I still remember this video from when it happened two years ago. Niv is truly a hero in fighting off his brutal attacker and in saving other store employees and shoppers!

Further, Niv and his wife, Sigal, have 5 beautiful children aged 18 to 4 1/2

If you can kindly open your heart to these victims of terror, here is the link for your donation as listed in the Jerusalem Post:
https://www.jgive.com/new/en/ils/donation-targets/24591.

May Hashem give a full and speedy healing to Niv and may He bless this family and all of us with peace!  ;-)
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September 30, 2015

Trader Joe's Is Growing On Me

I took this photo in Trader Joe's.

I like how organized (and colorful) they are.

A binder for everything...dairy, produce, bread, cereal, meat, cheese, snacks, cookies and candy, frozen goods, beverages, and flowers, , 

Another binder for training...nice, they care about their employees.

And even for donations--another sign proudly stated that the store had donated $925,000 of goods so far this year...that's pretty amazing!

I previously wrote about 10 Reasons To Love Trader Joe's (and 2 to not), but this store is continuing to grow on me. 

Especially with all the healthy eating you can do from there--that's probably the most important reason of all to shop there. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

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May 10, 2015

@Manna Food Center

Today we volunteered at Manna Food Center.

"Fighting hunger and feeding hope in Montgomery County."

There were huge bins of food that had been donated and collected from various organizations and charitable people.

A group of us from the synagogue, Magen David, met at the center.

We checked the dates on each item to ensure the food was not expired and still good to eat. 

We sorted the food by type into different boxes, crates, and shelves. 

There was areas for cans, pastas, cereals, pantry items, and more. 

The area that had the most stuff when we were done sorting...you guessed it--the junk food like cookies and chocolate--sort of unfortunate, but probably a comment on our times for what people actually buy and eat (despite all the calls for healthier eating and living).

There was one area specifically where we placed food for kids who don't have enough food for the weekends (when they don't have the school lunch program etc.), and they come on Fridays and fill their backpacks with milk boxes, crackers, and other things they can easily take home with them.

This really made me think about the dire straits that some families are in and especially the impact on the children.

G-d, no one should go hungry, and it was nice to see that people donate and volunteer to help, but still why in such a rich country like ours is there still so much hunger and need? ;-)

(Source Photo: Dannielle Blumenthal)
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November 11, 2012

Reaching The Victims Of Disaster


I watched on TV, a congressman from Staten Island talk about the complex response to Hurricane Sandy--in particular, how people whose homes were flooded and were without power could not contact authorities for the help they desperately needed.

Going on two weeks after the storm, the Congressman explained how engineers and architects were in turn going door to door to find out who needed help and what could be done--but this was slow and cumbersome. 

Today, I am reading in Bloomberg BusinessWeek (30 Oct. 2012) about an organization that "matches volunteers with people affected by disasters."

Recovers.org does this by establishing local recovery sites for communities (e.g. townname.recover.org) on a subscription model.
By establishing recovery sites to manage relief efforts--without waiting for government or aid groups--recovers.org enables self-sufficiency for communities in the face of disaster.

Moreover, by working at the grassroots level and going straight to neighborhood organizations such as houses or worship or community centers to serve as site administrators--those who know their community and who needs help--Recovers aims to bypass the "red tape."

The recovery sites they establish, include features for: 

- Searchable volunteer database that matches skills of volunteers to needs in the community
- Disaster Dashboard that aids in information sharing between victims and responders
- Donation mechanism where 100% goes directly to the areas affected, rather than to a relief organization

Recovers is the brainchild of someone whose own home was destroyed in a tornado in 2011, and who understands the logistical chaos that can ensue without proper recovery coordination on the ground!

I like the idea of this community Recovery portal for coordinating relief efforts through volunteers and donations, and see this as complementary to the formal FEMA DisasterAssistance.gov site for applying for various forms of assistance and checking claims.

Still though, the fundamental problem exists when you have no power--you can't logon to recover.org or disasterassistance.gov--you are still cut-off and in need of help. So it looks like we are back to the drawing board on this one again.

As a vision for the future, we need the ability to establish remote wireless charging generally-speaking for all, but specifically for communities struck by disaster, so they can call out for help and we can actually hear them and provide a timely respond!  ;-)

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