Going A Step Beyond

Workers preparing food at DC Central Kitchen.

Just about every major city (and some suburban areas) have soup kitchens, where volunteers provide meals to homeless people. But one man in Washington, DC, wondered whether the needs of the homeless were really being met.

Meet Robert Egger, the founder of DC CENTRAL KITCHEN. Thinking outside the box, he decided that a training program would be useful. So, his organization trains homeless people to cook properly and earn licenses as food handlers. Trainees work to prepare surplus and donated food into meals for homeless shelters and nonprofit groups.



As time went by, DC Central Kitchen grew. The organization now provides meals to 60 corner stores in low income neighborhoods and local schools, totaling more than 10,000 meals per day. Sixty percent of its income comes from food sale and approximately 80 people per year are trained in its culinary programs.

Volunteers are always welcome to join into the programming. The atmosphere is one of community - people from all walks of life working together for one purpose. As Robert Egger says, "This idea of everyone side by side - it's a powerful image. The President of the United States, someone from the shelter, a kid from Wilson High School - we're Washingtonians side by side. This is the power of community!"

Isn't community something we all need these days, especially in a city where divisive politics somehow rule the day?

Students learning the food prep business.

 NPR interviewed Mr. Egger and wrote about him and his program: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/09/20/349859645/beyond-charity-turning-the-soup-kitchen-upside-down?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=food&utm_medium=social&utm_term=nprnews

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A Secret Act Of Kindness Goes Viral

It all started on a Saturday morning when Kathleen Connors, a nurse at Central Vermont Medical Center sat down for breakfast at the L&M Diner in Barre, VT. Since she had had some good luck playing bingo, she decided to pay for the meal of a pair of diners sitting nearby.

And that's when a chain of kindness began. Kathleen was aware that there were a few other customers who did the same thing, but never in her wildest dreams did she suspect that the chain would become 50 diners long. "I'm speechless, I'm euphoric. It's just insane," was Ms. Connors' response.

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Then came her work shift on a Sunday night after she had been in Massachusetts for the weekend. She got an even bigger surprise. Kathleen report, "I came into work the other night and everyone was giving me kudos and high fives. I'm like what are you talking about and then it got back to me and I was like I never told anyone." News of her anonymous act of kindness had spread. Somehow her colleagues knew, when they heard about the deed, that it just had to be Kathleen. You see, Kathleen had a reputation for being optimistic and generous.

Then came the story about Kathleen Connors struggle. Kathleen had moved to VT in search of work after being jobless for more than a year. She was grateful that she was able to find steady work in this wonderful community. You'll never hear Kathleen speak ill of her new home, for she loves Vermont and its people, along with her friends and the place she now works.

A check paid forward.

 Check out the story on WCAX web page: http://www.wcax.com/story/27269376/central-vermont-nurses-secret-act-of-kindness-goes-viral?hpt=us_bn7.

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A Localized Disaster Turns Into Smiles

Mudslide on San Como Lane.

While children around the country were dressed in scary costumes and making the rounds in the hope of getting Halloween treats, the hills around Camarillo Springs, CA, were being drenched by heavy rains. As sometimes happens with so much rain, the saturated soil suddenly started moving, generating a mudslide and leaving an ooey, gooey mess in several homes on San Como Lane.

At Henry Needham's home, the deposited goo was waist-deep, trapping him in the house. Firefighters came to his rescue and got him out safely. But no one could find his little dachshund, Tinkerbell, so he sadly thought that the dog had perished.



Two days later, when his grandson was around Henry's home, he actually heard barking coming from inside the home. So back came the firefighters, and while family and neighbors looked on, they exited with a mud-covered little dachshund, bringing a bundle of hope and joy with that dirty little dog.

But, no sweat, Tinkerbell was able to be cleaned up fairly easily. Henry Needham was filled with such joy, he commented, "It was such a fantastic time, you cannot believe it."

Henry Needham and his dog, Tinkerbell.

As for Henry's home, that isn't so easily cleaned. His home was red tagged as one of the most damaged and mud, now soil, removal is taking place with the assistance of Bobcats.

KTLA videoed the news story about finding the dog: http://ktla.com/2014/11/03/pet-dachshund-tinkerbell-found-alive-and-well-after-mudslides-in-camarillo-springs/.

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When Friendship Means A Lot

Front cover of  "Chocolate Bar" book.

At the age of 8, Dylan Siegel is a popular author. And imagine this, he wrote the book when he was 6 years old! Not a penny from sales has gone to Dylan.

There was a higher purpose for writing the book, "Chocolate Bar", which actually is code for awesome. Dylan's friend Jonah Pournazarian was born with Glycogen Storage Disease Type 1b, which is so rare that it affects only one in one million people. Because of this illness, Jonah must be fed a special formula through a stomach tube several times per day in order to remain healthy. Dylan wanted to do something to help Jonah.


The University of Florida Health System has a SPECIALIZED PROGRAM for individuals who suffer from the various types of glycogen storage diseases. At the time Dylan and his family approached them about Dylan's idea to write a book to raise money to continue their research, which, coincidentally, was running out of funding.

Now, Dylan was dreaming quite large; he had a goal to raise $1 million. Once he wrote the book for children, a CHOCOLATE BAR BOOK WEBSITE was set up, where the book could be purchased, along with tattoos, bracelets, t-shirts, and other items, all going to the GSD program at University of Florida Health System.

So, how far did Dylan get to realizing his goal? Wait for this, ta-ta-ta-daah - he has now raised more than $900,000. It just goes to show that even when you dream big, you can get there step by step.

Joshua (left), Dylan (right).

Here's the news story from KTLA news: http://ktla.com/2014/02/27/boy-raises-750000-to-find-cure-for-best-friends-rare-disease/.

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Paying It Back

Dr. Judith Brownell adjusting art work for sale.

More than 60 years ago, in 1951, a young boy, an orphan, came to Seattle Children's Hospital for treatment of a rare bone disorder. That treatment took more than a year and when it came time to leave, that young boy paid the bill with fifty cents, which is all he had in his pocket. Hospital officials told him not to worry, that the bill was paid in full.

But that day, the young boy made a promise - to become a doctor, one who would be able to treat others in the same compassionate way he had been treated. And so, Dale Brownell, the young boy, studied hard and became a physician and he was able to help people. But he also made another promise that day - he would pay the hospital back for the treatment he had received. That is one promise, though, that he was unable to keep, for he died at the age of 52, back in the 1990s, before he could do so.


But he had married a smart woman, who also became a physician, an obstetrician, Dr. Judith Brownell. And she made a promise to her husband - to carry on and fulfill that last promise.

Now, fast forward to the present. Judith Brownell is now 74 years old and she has been holding an estate sale this weekend to sell the couple's treasured art works. It turns out that the estate is worth more than $1.5 million and all of the proceeds are going to Seattle Children's Hospital, more than enough to cover that long ago bill. According to Dr. Brownell, "That's why I'm giving everything I have. It closes the circle."

The story and video can be found here: http://www.king5.com/story/news/local/2014/10/31/seattle-childrens-hospital-judith-brownell/18270789/.

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A Special Library In A Garden

A children's program at the Garden Library.

Many cities around the world have "those" areas, you know, the ones that count large numbers of homeless people, people with low incomes, substance abusers, recent immigrants without documents, high crime, degraded housing stock. Tel Aviv has seen this section of its city, too. But that's where a little something different happened, courtesy of a garden and a library.

Within this poor community, the garden already existed - Lewinsky Garden. Then someone added two bookcases filled with books. And that was really starting something because poor neighborhoods generally don't have such amenities as museums, higher education, or gathering places. Just adding the bookshelves turned the garden into that gathering place, while the garden provided nature's art.


In Israel, approximately 40,000 immigrants come from Eritrea and 15,000 journeyed from Sudan. Only one percent of asylum applications are approved by the State of Israel, much less than most other developed nations. It leaves immigrants in something of a legal limbo and subject to discrimination by some Israeli citizens. Similar to what goes on here in the US, Israeli immigrants find themselves arrested and locked up merely for possessing items with some value, such as cellphones or expensive sneakers. Israeli courts have been slow to address issues of this sort.

Meanwhile, this small library in the public garden has grown, now housing approximately 3500 books in a variety of languages. It is all maintained exclusively by volunteers without much in the way of funding. Approximately 40-60 children benefit from its existence. There are 50 cardholding adults and 300 adults enrolled in its educational programs.

This summer, the library staged the play, "One Small Black", featuring the immigrant experience, to an audience of 1000 people, on World Refugee Day. Theater experts Yael Tal and Naama Redler directed.

The garden library lighted at night,

Of course, just the facts don't adequately tell what this community space has meant to the community. For most, it provides much needed emotional support, even extending its hands to help those who have been incarcerated and providing a forum where those from various backgrounds can begin communicating and fostering a spirit of understanding.

For those interested in more information, here is an article from the project itself: http://www.thegardenlibrary.org/about.htm.

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A Tribute To Avi

Avi Gandhi posing in front of the signs honoring him.

Like many small business owners, Avi Gandhi had hit a pileup of difficulties. Combined with the effects of the recession, his wife Bharati developed cancer and was hospitalized. In order to pay the bills, Avi continued to run Center Lane Stationery, his business, and spent very little time supporting his wife, something for which he still feels rather guilty.

But even with all of this effort, Avi's business is in decline and he may no longer be able to balance the books, so he was anticipating closing his beloved store within a year. Some of his customers decided to give back something special to Avi, in return for the personal attention and stories with which he had bestowed them over the past ten years.



So, Craig Dennis and his wife, Celeste, decided to stage a most memorable event, a cash mob, which was designed to buy out the store and show Avi how much he meant to his customers. They posted the event online and more than 100 people signed up. Participants were sworn to secrecy, so this event would be a surprise to Avi. By the way, Craig and Celeste no longer live in Levittown, but on the other side of the country in Portland, Oregon. That's a lot of love - and a lot of miles.

On the appointed day back in June, all of his prized customers surprised Avi with a large flow of customers for about one hour, then the celebration turned into a party. But besides the one-day tribute to Avi Gandhi, the video of the event has been turned into a documentary. There was hope to continue the store - and dreams of a new lease. Still, the business struggles on, with the possibility that the store will close by the end of the year. Yet, Avi knows that he's much beloved by the people of his home town, Levittown, NY, and that's all that any one person may really need.

Here's the article that appeared in the Long Island Weekly: http://www.longislandweekly.com/flash-mob-feature-film-avis-farewell-tour/.

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