GREAT NECK SYNAGOGUE
JUNE CHESED COLLECTION
Who among us does not have old and unwanted shoes, eyeglasses or cell phones sitting in a closet or a drawer at home? Although enjoyed and treasured in their day, now these items sit awaiting their seemingly inevitable final reckoning with the Great Neck sanitation department. It doesn’t have to be that way. You can give these items a new lease on life and, more importantly, help those in need when doing so.
All you need to do is drop off those items this week at one of the two convenient drop-off locations listed below.
Here’s how your items will help:
Shoes
Your gently used shoes will go to Souls4Soles, a terrific charity dedicated to fighting poverty in the U.S. and around the world. First, the shoes are sorted by condition, including by a facility dedicated to employing workers with disabilities. Shoes in new or nearly-new condition are distributed to those in need, sometimes in response to natural disasters, or sometimes to those suffering chronic poverty, such as to orphanages in Third World countries. Shoes below that grade are provided to micro-enterprises in Third World countries, thereby helping some of the world’s most poor people to start and sustain businesses to bring their families out of poverty. Read more about it at http://soles4souls.org/
Eyeglasses and Sunglasses
Your glasses or sunglasses will go to New Eyes, an outstanding charity based in New Jersey dedicated to providing free prescription glasses for those in need. Your donations will be sorted by volunteers, who will measure the prescription strength of the lenses, and who will also remove any small amounts of precious metals that can be combined and sold to pay for glasses for the needy here in the U.S. After sorting, the glasses will then be shipped to medical missions and other distribution networks across the Third World. The needy recipients will sometimes travel and wait in line for hours for what can be a life-changing restoration of vision. Read more at http://www.new-eyes.org
Cell phones
Your used cell phone can help provide cost-free communications to the brave members of our
military. Cell phones for Soldiers was founded in 2004 by a 12 and 13-year old brother and sister from
Massachusetts and has since provided almost 200 million minutes of talk time allowing troops to have priceless conversations with their loved ones back home. Your old cell phone will be sold to a recycling company and the money raised is then used to pay for calling cards or other devices for members of the military. You can donate your old cell phones even if you don’t have the charger, battery or other accessories. You can read more about the program at http://www.
We hope that you will take a few moments in your day to go through your closets and drawers to find and donate these items. This is also a wonderful opportunity to teach your children the life-changing value of small acts of chessed.
Please drop your items off any time Sunday through Friday
1. 88 Old Pond Road (Please leave by the garage.) Contact, if needed: Steve Blumner – 516-639-8941
2. 11 William Penn (Please leave by the garage.) Contact, if needed: Jonny Ambalo – 347-971-8178
