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February 11, 2005/Adar 12 5765, Volume 57, No. 24
Jews unite to raise tsunami aid
RACHEL POMERANCE
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
As millions of Americans tuned in to the Super Bowl on Feb. 6 for a night of football and booze, Chabad-Lubavitch rolled out a different kind of game plan.
Administrators at the Chabad house that serves the beaches of Jacksonville, Fla., had realized that almost as many people would converge on the city for the Super Bowl - some 200,000 - as were killed in the tsunami on Dec. 26.
That simple equation inspired "Tidal Wave of Goodness," a move to collect some 200,000 signed pledges of good deeds to be done.
"So much negativity was created with the tsunami," said Rabbi Nochum Kurinsky of Chabad @ the Beaches, which partnered for the project with Chabad of Northeast Florida. "We figured we could try to counteract that a little bit."
In the days leading up to the Super Bowl and outside the game itself, Chabad had 10 volunteers going around the city asking for pledges. They received close to 3,000 pledges.
In the seven weeks since the tsunami swept over Southeast Asia, Jewish groups in Israel and the United States have been working in coordinated campaigns to respond to the crisis.
In the Valley, synagogues, schools, individuals and businesses are doing their part to help those affected by the tsunami, which killed nearly 300,000 people (updated figure) in 11 countries.
Two such businesses are Commotion Promotions, Ltd., and Cutters Gloves, both of Phoenix.
January sales for Commotion Promotions reached record levels after the company announced that a portion of its sales would go to tsunami relief efforts. Ken Kravitz, vice president of sales, said sales doubled last month compared to January 2004. "We're proud that even a company with just 15 employees can make a difference," said Kravitz.
Kravitz said Commotion Promotions will donate close to $2,000 for tsunami relief.
Cutters' president Jeff Beraznik said his firm's "Help for Sri Lanka" raised between $25,000 and $30,000. The company has a factory in Sri Lanka, where, as of Feb. 9, nearly 31,000 people were confirmed dead.
Cutters' relief efforts have moved from Phase 1, which saw packets of food, bottled water, medicine, sheets and towels distributed to the displaced victims to Phase 2: reconstruction.
Beraznik says the Sri Lanka factory will oversee the rebuilding of a hospital, two schools, and three fishing boats.
The Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief's tsunami response unit is accepting proposals from relief groups to determine how to allocate the $800,000 it has raised so far.
The 37-member coalition plans to make allocations by the end of the month and to give special attention to Israeli organizations working on the ground in Southeast Asia.
Meanwhile, Jewish organizations that have raised funds themselves are making some allocations independently. The American Jewish World Service has raised some $8.5 million. About $1.5 million has been distributed for immediate needs such as shelter, burials and cooking supplies.
The bulk of the funds will go toward long-term reconstruction projects such as refurbishing devastated fishing industries and trauma counseling, said Ronni Strongin, director of the group's public relations.
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, which runs the disaster relief coalition, has raised more than $15 million, much of it from Jewish federations. The JDC has donated $500,000 to the coalition.
On its own, the JDC has donated $800,000 for immediate relief and is planning another allocation for long-term infrastructure projects.
Several other Jewish groups are continuing to raise funds. They include Hadassah, the Union for Reform Judaism and the American Friends of Magen David Adom.
Israel is offering its unique expertise in emergency response. The Zaka service, for example, helped identify bodies in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.
Israel's work has been noticed.
Workers for the relief agency Magen David Adom were allowed to wear their own uniforms - featuring a red Star of David - for the first time in an emergency relief operation outside of Israel.
Democratic Congressmen Steve Israel and Joe Crowley of New York were touring the region when they stumbled on an Israeli flag on a Sri Lankan coastal road.
Israel says the lawmakers joined Israeli relief workers who were feeding hundreds of orphaned children and coordinating a sack race.
"You saw these kids counting down in Hebrew, laughing," Israel said. "I don't know of a single child among them who could ever be affected by anti-Israel propaganda after this."
Contributing Editor Hank Neyer and JTA Washington Bureau Chief Ron Kampeas contributed to this report.
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