Tomchei Shabbos gears up for greater need

By Yaffi Spodek

Issue of March 13, 2009 / 17 Adar 5769

Like many other charity organizations, Tomchei Shabbos –– which provides weekly food packages to needy local families –– is feeling the effects of the recession.

“We’re up about 20 percent in requests for food,” said Jeanette Lamm, the coordinator of Tomchei Shabbos for the Five Towns and Far Rockaway. “We’re now sending over 190 packages every Shabbos, and the numbers are gradually creeping up. “

The increased demand comes as Tomchei Shabbos begins to prepare for its Pesach campaign, its largest project of the year, coordinated by Ari Schonbrun of Cedarhurst. As the holiday approaches, the organization expects the number of needy families to continue to grow.

“This year we are preparing Pesach packages for 220 families, up from 180 last year, and up from 165 the year before,” Schonbrun told The Jewish Star. “It is obvious that the economy has taken a toll.”

“There are many families who can make it during the year, but Pesach pushes them over the edge,” Lamm explained. “We’re getting new families every day because the economy is hurting a lot of people.”

The Tomchei Shabbos operating budget last year was over $400,000, Schonbrun estimates, a number that has risen this year. Although the number of donations received this year has not declined from previous years, it hasn’t increased either.

“Do we need money like everybody else –– yes, we do,” Schonbrun said. “But we are not going to turn anyone away because we will figure it out. We have no choice.”

“The reason why people don’t have a problem giving to Tomchei Shabbos is because they know it has zero overhead,” he continued. “They know every dollar that is collected goes for food, because everything else is donated and everybody is a volunteer.”

Tomchei Shabbos held its annual fund-raiser in February, but is always looking for additional donations. As Pesach nears, the organization is counting on community members to pitch in –– financially and physically, as volunteers –– to meet the increased demand.

Every Pesach package is tailor made, allowing each family to choose what they need from a list of over 30 items, including three types of matzo, wine, meat, cheese and other basic necessities. Under the guidance of Schonbrun, the requests are coordinated, and the packages are assembled and delivered by volunteers on the Sunday preceding Pesach, this year on April 5.

“We usually have enough people to package the food,” Schonbrun noted, “but we need people to volunteer as drivers to deliver the packages.”

On average, each family receives six boxes of food, intended to cover their needs for all the days of yom tov, though in the past Tomchei Shabbos has delivered as many as 24 boxes to a single household.

Each week, students from TAG High School prepare the food packages. For the Pesach campaign, Tomchei Shabbos has formed a partnership with girls at Bnot Shulamith, who will work with their fathers to participate in a pre-Pesach father-daughter chesed activity.

“It’s a nice thing that although we live in the Five Towns among so much affluence, the kids come and see that this is what we’re packing for people that just don’t have what to eat,” said Schonbrun. “They stand in awe because it’s hard for them to imagine that people don’t have money to buy food. It sheds a whole new light on the yuntif (holiday) for them.”

Schonbrun, who has volunteered with Tomchei Shabbos for over two decades, emphasized the high level of sensitivity that is displayed in regard to maintaining clients’ privacy.

“Everything is done with the utmost respect for the people receiving the packages,” he stressed. “We never send drivers to make deliveries in an area where they know the people. We also don’t use names on our order sheets –– we only have numbers and addresses.”

“It’s a full community effort,” Lamm observed. “It doesn’t matter who needs –– black hat, kippah seruga, whoever needs help gets it and everybody helps out. It’s a real community organization.”

Schonbrun praised Lamm and her husband Moish for being the “backbones of the organization...really incredible people.”

“Without them, the organization wouldn’t exist,” he said, noting that Moish often pays out of his own pocket to hire trucks and workers to help deliver the Pesach packages.

Schonbrun also credits his wife, Joyce, for allowing him to participate in the Pesach campaign. “She gives me up on Sunday, the busiest day before Pesach,” he said. “She is the driving force behind my being able to do what I do.”

Donations for Tomchei Shabbos can be sent to 634 Oak Drive, Far Rockaway, NY, 11691. For more information on contributions or to volunteer, please call (718) 327-7283.