By Yaffi Spodek
Issue of June 26, 2009 / 4Tammuz 5769
On your next grocery run, be on the lookout for the newest item now on display at local supermarkets — a bin to collect canned and boxed
non-perishable food items for donation to a food pantry.
The Eliezer Project has teamed up with the Jewish Community Center of the greater Five Towns in an effort to replenish the JCC food pantry, which has suffered from an increase in demand and a decrease in donations. By strategically placing bins in several local supermarkets, both organizations hope to assist needy neighbors who cannot afford to pay for kosher food.
“We are instituting a program in which we will be placing receptacles
past the checkout counter of each of the main food purveyors in the
community, and patrons will be encouraged to donate food specifically
purchased to be deposited into the bin,” explained Sam Bergman,
executive director of The Eliezer Project. “We are hoping it will make
a serious contribution to the needs of our clients and the rest of the
community.”
“The growing number of families in crisis makes this an absolute
necessity,” said Rina Shkolnik, executive director of the JCC. “We
hope our neighbors give generously and that the word gets out to the
families that truly need this assistance.”
Signs posted at the entrance of each store will notify and remind
customers of the project, advertised as ‘buy one, bin one.’
“The food pantry is not a secret,” noted Bergman, “and we’re hoping
this project will heighten awareness of the need to contribute food,
but also of the existence of the food pantry for those who are buying
food but might prefer getting it for free.”
The bins, scheduled to be in place by Thursday, June 25, will be
located in Brach’s, Glatt Kosher Kingdom, Gourmet Glatt, Kosher World
and Supersol. “Each of these stores enthusiastically agreed to
participate,” said Bergman.
The Eliezer Project has also recruited volunteers to work together
with the JCC staff to pick up the donated items and deliver them to
the JCC food pantry, where they will be sorted and distributed each
week.
The ‘buy one, bin one’ initiative is just one of several ways in
which the Eliezer Project tries to helps its clients — unemployed or
underemployed breadwinners who need financial assistance. Now totaling
close to 140, the client base of The Eliezer Project has increased
over the last few months.
“We now see between four to six new unemployed people every week and
two to three clients in other services we provide,” said Bergman.
“It’s been getting a little more dire. We are meeting with people who
have been out of work even longer. This is sort of the next stage,
where there is greater incidence and closer threats of house
foreclosures. As the crisis continues unabated, the impact on people
who are let go — people with businesses, not just employees — and who
have seen a severe decline in income has become even more egregious
with the passage of time, while they managed for a few months, but now
it gets tighter.”
The Eliezer Project is now offering full or partial subsidies to
clients on a limited basis. The subsidies will be provided for
specific purposes such as the a professional or vocational retraining
programs; the obtainment of advanced degrees or certifications;
premiums for low-cost health insurance; emergency utility payments;
and temporary children’s day-care services used in connection with job
searches.
Several clients have gotten jobs and made valuable contacts through
the organization. “I see an uptick in hiring and there seems to be a
few more employers hiring, although everyone is still cautious,”
observed Ellen Aronovitz, the employment director. “They are starting
to hire the people they need for their business so that gives me a
little more optimism.”
Even those clients who haven’t found suitable work yet are benefiting
in other ways from workshops and seminars offered by The Eliezer
Project, and from one-on-one meetings with the staff, which also
includes financial manager Esthy Hersch.
“My belief is that every meeting and every contact is valuable but no
person or organization comes close to what I have gained from the
Eliezer Project, and specifically Ellen Aronovitz,” said one client,
who did not wish to be named. “Please note that this is a compliment
to Ellen, but I wonder when she sleeps.”
Other clients praised the organization’s “wonderful e-mails with job
opportunities and helpful articles” and “the amazing quality of jobs”
available to them through The Eliezer Project.
“Sometime people wait a little bit before they come to us, and then
when things are not progressing, they say, ‘Let me try The Eliezer
Project,’” explained Aronovitz. “We’re another resource for them.”
The organization is still relying on the community to donate funds
and notify them of jobs or other services that may be suitable for
their clients.
To reach The Eliezer Project, call (516) 284-2942 or visit their web
site, www.eliezerproject.org.