"Setting the Table"
Phil
Jacobs
Editor - Baltimore Jewish Times
MARCH 18, 2005
Yeshivat Rambam requires
every student from middle school student to graduating senior to put
in some 18 hours of community service a year.
Avi Goldberg, Avi Staiman, Mollie Sharfman, Shoshana Pachino and Adina Rosenblatt have probably put in some individual days easily of 18 hours on community service. That's not counting the time they spend eating, sleeping and breathing the work they're doing.
Oh, and did we mention advance placement tests, schoolwork and the basketball team?
These five students form the organizational core of "America Eats For Israel."
Let's hold it right here.
This isn't about washing cars, baking cookies or selling candy, as noble as those efforts have always been in traditional high school fund-raising.
Instead, "America Eats For Israel" comes with a vision, a business plan, meetings, cold calls, follow-through, sometimes rejection, delayed gratification, success stories and even a Web site, www.AmericaeatsforIsrael.org.
It actually started last year as "Baltimore Eats For Israel." Kosher restaurants in the Baltimore area donated 10 percent of their profits for a designated day. The funds went to an organization in Israel supporting victims of terrorism.
That plan netted some $1,500, and by itself would have been lauded by anyone.
It was hardly enough, though.
Especially for Avi Goldberg.
The 18-year-old Rambam senior came out of last year's fund-raiser wondering out loud, "What about 'Maryland Eats For Israel'?"
When he approached the other students about the idea, he ran into his share of, "Are you crazy?" But Avi Goldberg, who is the visionary of the group, came back a short time later with an even bolder proposition, "America Eats For Israel."
This Monday, March 21, some 133 kosher restaurants from all over the United States, including all of the Baltimore area's kosher establishments, will give 10 percent of their profits to "America Eats For Israel." The money will then go to Israel to fund victims of terrorism. Mr. Goldberg is hoping the effort will raise from $30,000 to $50,000.
The plan is simple, but striking. Take the slowest day of the week for kosher restaurants. That would be Monday. Ask the community to patronize these restaurants on Monday, knowing 10 percent of the gross profits would go to Israel. It works for everyone.
That's what Avi Goldberg got and passed on to his "colleagues."
He and his team have spent months on the phone to schools of all Jewish denominations from all over the country, enlisting the services of other ambitious students, most of whom they've never met. They called a camp friend here, a friend of a friend in another city, and sometimes they just plain cold-called.
"You've got to give credit to the kids," said Rambam's middle and high school principal Rabbi Howard Bald. "I think what you are seeing here is a group of kids functioning on an adult fund-raising level. You can see it in many ways, their use of the Web site, and their use of the administration of the school."
Rambam has set up an office and phone for the students. Head of School Dr. Rita Shloush has made phone calls to other schools all over the country, talking to her counterparts about the idea.
"What I think places them a notch above in their efforts is that they are always seeking advice," said Dr. Shloush. "Avi Goldberg is always in my office, always asking me what do I think of a certain idea. He'll tell me the idea, and I'll say, 'Fine, now how are you going to do it?'"
Rambam's head of school even has Avi Goldberg's cell phone number close at hand. The two are talking the business of "America Eats For Israel" on a regular basis. How many students' cell phone numbers are known by their heads of school for a good reason?
"You
see these kids building skills in business," Dr. Shloush said. "They
are building interpersonal skills. These are skills that lead to success.
It was their idea to ask the restaurant owners, 'What is your least patronized
night of business? We'll deliver the customers if you donate 10 percent.'
There are no losses here. But these are also kids heavily involved in
chesed [kindness]."
In a group interview with the five students, it was almost uncanny to see the business structure that had been set up. Avi Goldberg was the visionary, sitting back in his chair looking at the big picture. It would not be difficult to imagine him asking, coaxing and dreaming of something big. How about the "World Eats For Israel?"
Avi Staiman, 17, also a senior, seemed to be the "head of implementation" with the crew. He was the one sitting next to his classmate, shaking his head in terms of, "Let's go for it" or "OK, we'll give it a try."
Mollie Sharfman, Adina Rosenblatt and Shoshana Pachino, all 16 and juniors, are the heirs apparent to the project. Each one, though, brings to the table a level of focus and concern.
Indeed, one mother said that while visiting another city, her daughter, who normally would be shy about such things, walked in cold to a kosher restaurant with a contract in hand, and got the owner to sign up.
"I've seen my daughter grow up a great deal from doing this," said the mom. "It's been a wonderful process."
Said Avi Goldberg: "The idea came about originally from Rabbi [Pesach] Sommer [a high school teacher who left Rambam at the end of last year for a post in Vancouver]. It seemed easy enough. We didn't want to beg for money. This was something that would work for everyone."
Said Adina Rosenblatt: "It was a great idea. It was a community thing. Everyone eats out. It was a matter of pushing the idea to make it happen."
Mr. Goldberg said that when he first started walking into restaurants to talk to owners, reaction was mixed. One establishment pretty much kicked him out, while another owner just came out and said "no."
But he didn't get hung up with any fears of rejection. Instead, he just kept opening doors until someone said yes.
Tov Pizza, Avi Goldberg said, and its owner Ronnie Rosenbluth, was the first to come aboard last year. He was, added Avi, also helpful in working with the kids to form a business plan.
The committee, which has some 22 Rambam students also contributing time and effort, divided the nation into "territories." Each one of the juniors was in charge of calling schools in their territories.
The restaurants are located in 18 states and the District of Columbia. New York leads the way with 26, followed by 24 in New Jersey, 19 in the Baltimore-Washington area and 17 in California. There's even a participating establishment in Iowa, Jacob's Market. The full list as well as the school list is on the Web site.
For their parents, the experience of watching their teenagers get on the phone, make cold calls and deliver contracts to restaurants has been fulfilling.
"Is Avi a visionary? Well, I think he so fully believes in what he's doing," said his mother, Roz Goldberg. "He doesn't want the focus on him. It's about the project and the people in Israel it will help."
"America Eats for Israel" is dedicated to the memory of Esther Berger, Roz Goldberg's mother, who survived the Holocaust, the world's most devastating modern memory of terrorism.
"It's extraordinary to watch how these teenagers have taken their senior year, traditionally a time for taking it easy, and invested thousands of hours in a project that will literally change lives," said Jeremy Staiman, owner of Staiman Designs.
"They have quickly learned the ropes in such varied fields as public relations, organizing major events, working with the media, negotiating contracts with store owners and overseeing committees across the country. Anyone who thought that today's teens think only of themselves needs to meet the kids behind 'America Eats For Israel.' It's an inspiring thing to see."
"Mollie
has a ton of energy, and I'm glad to see it channeled in this positive,
worthwhile cause. It's great to see. I'm very proud of her," said
Paula Guttman Sharfman.
Dr. Mel Pachino also talked about what he saw with the group.
"These kids have shown maturity beyond their years by tackling a small local project and expanding it on a national scale with a business plan and follow-up," he said. "That takes an incredible amount of leadership ability, and it bodes well for our people in the future to have young adults like this ready to step up and do their part."
"They're entrepreneurs," said Adina's mother, Rachel. "I think these few children are the most dedicated, compassionate, selfless kids. These are young adults making a difference. When we were in Florida recently for a basketball tournament, we went to one of the stores they contacted about 'America Eats.' The store owner was so enamored with these kids, that it was a great thing they were doing. She thought it was an amazing thing they did. This is beyond their normal day. This came from a small idea, and it has ballooned into something. I have people from Michigan calling Adina. They have really taken to it. Now it's all over the United States. They're on the phone all the time in between AP classes and basketball practice. They have this compassion for Israel that can't be beat. They are really special kids."
Ben Griffin, a noted local coach of business executives, agreed with the special nature of these kids.
"I could think of 50 companies who'd love to have them," he said. "That these are kids who have a national view, that scope beyond Baltimore is rare to begin with. To have that conscientiousness that we need a visionary and implementation, that is a maturity far beyond 16 or 17 years old. You don't see that in a lot of $50 million businesses. It's a wonderful validation that if you do something you are passionate about, the money will follow."
Mr. Rosenbluth of Tov Pizza is no stranger to raising awareness about terrorism in Israel. He organized five minutes of silence in kosher pizza stores across the nation at the one-year anniversary of the August 2001 terrorist bombing of the Sbarro's pizzeria in Jerusalem.
"We talked about the process growing," Mr. Rosenbluth said. "This year, Avi Goldberg said he wanted to take it across America. He left our number for people to call. Also, I put out a letter telling restaurant owners how it worked last year. People called from all over the country making sure this was a legitimate operation.
"I'm very impressed with the way Avi and all of Rambam got this off the ground," continued Mr. Rosenbluth. "Anytime anyone can bring the country together that's above what they normally do, the importance there is amazing. It's not often you get to step it up. And in this case, I don't care where people eat on the 21st as long as they go to a participating place."
Tov Pizza will also have a box available for someone who wants to drop by and just donate money.
Over at the Brasserie in Pikesville, owner Lonny Borck called "America Eats For Israel" a "win-win situation."
"Avi Staiman is very motivated. He comes in, stays on top and follows up," said Mr. Borck. "He's dedicated to the cause they are rallying for. He is energetic and takes on whatever the challenges are. He presented it well. We said yes right away. I think it would be good for more things to be out there that can help everybody. It brings in more faces, and raises money for them."
"We are kids," said Avi Staiman. "But we want to be as professional as possible. I don't want people to see this as a joke."
"You talk about where there's a will, there's a way, and you see that in these kids," said their teacher and adviser, Chana Rothschild. "They felt this strong urge and obligation to get this done. They saw bigger, and they saw a way to do more."
She said she has seen the same group of kids in Israel volunteer to clean houses for Shabbat in Israel.
"'America Eats For Israel' is an unselfish project," she said. "They don't have any one of themselves in mind at all. It's just how much more can we do? There's no self-gratification here, nobody is expecting an honor. It is hard work."
Mrs. Rothschild said that after a recent homicide bombing in Tel Aviv, the students covered their "America Eats For Israel" bulletin board in black with a lighted candle.
"I'm in awe of these kids," she said.
Rabbi Bald said that he thinks the students' connection to Israelis whose family members have been victims of terror is a key motivator.
"The matzav [intifada] was part of their formative years," said Rabbi Bald. "They identify and are connected with Israelis who are victims of terror."
Rabbi Bald added that the group was so dedicated that at least one of the kids asked to stay behind from a school ski trip to work instead on the project.
"I tell everyone I speak to that this isn't just a Rambam event," said
Avi Goldberg. "Everyone is capable of eating and helping Israel.
It's easy."
Indeed, Matan Flank, a 16-year-old junior at Fuchs Mizrachi School in Cleveland, signed all eight of Cleveland's kosher establishments on to "America Eats For Israel." He was recruited by Shoshana Pachino. They were on the same bus last summer during a B'nei Akiva teen program.
"As a Jew not living in Israel, I felt a responsibility to help," he said. "The restaurants here in Cleveland were more than willing to participate."
Further south, Rabbi Michael Berger of Yeshiva Atlanta, said that an "America Eats For Israel" poster greets students and staff at the school's front door. The program, he added, has created a buzz among students.
"The Baltimore students spoke to me about this several months ago, and of course we gave it our blessing," said Rabbi Berger. "The president of the student council got his team together, and put together fliers. Our kids know the kids from Baltimore because of basketball tournaments. So even though there's 600 miles between us, there's a great deal of closeness.
"I'm
glad kids with this sort of savvy put this together. Our graduating
seniors are taking a leadership role. They
want to leave an imprint."