frank storch - operation chesed
TRANSCRIPT
Mrs. Judy Moss was in the hospital
when the storm started. Here’s her
exciting adventure:
You really never know how a routine
day can end up! I had an appointment on
Friday at the hospital’s outpatient clinic, for
what was supposed to be a regular visit.
After performing certain tests, the doctor
realized that I needed further tests, and I was
admitted into the hospital. So, during the
storm, I was in the hospital, with no idea what
was happening outside. The hospital had a
generator, so I didn’t even know that most
electricity was down. When I was discharged
on Sunday, I tried calling a friend to come and
pick me up, and I couldn’t understand why
she wasn’t answering. Since I was alone, a
hospital employee wheeled me all through
the parking lot to find my car. There were no
cars in the parking lot, and I had no idea why.
I kept thinking to myself, this is so strange;
where did all of the people go? How could it be
so empty in the hospital parking lot?! I had no
clue that there had been a disaster. Where
was everyone? I just wanted to go home.
So I drove home, happy to be leaving
the hospital. Everything was so quiet; it was
strange. There were only two cars in my
building’s parking lot, and usually the lot is
full of cars. What’s wrong? I thought.
I saw some trees down, and thought that
maybe there had been a small storm. When
I came home and my lights didn’t turn on,
I realized that something must be wrong.
I opened my fridge, and it smelled so bad. I
wanted to take a shower, and the water was
freezing.
I called and got to the Storch’s house with
air-conditioning and food. They let me stay
for the night, and then arranged a wonder-
ful place for me to stay. It was so special how
the people with electricity were so gracious
toward their neighbors in need.
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ing to get power back anytime soon. I assured them
that I could bring them a few of our generators, so
at least they would have some power for serving
hot food and lights. Some dedicated volunteers
delivered the generators to the wedding hall, and
the weddings went on as scheduled. It was hot
without air-conditioning, but the simchah carried
it through.
I also enjoyed my stint at being the “Good
Humor man” at Yeshivas Ner Israel, since their
power outage lasted for over five days. I brought
bags of ice and bottled water to distribute from my
car. And one night, I surprised them with hundreds
of popsicles for the children and their families. It
was a big hit!
Monday, July 2:
FS: Even though the heavy part of the storm had
passed, the electricity still was not restored because
of the many damaged power lines. Trees were
down all over, and the roads were treacherous.
But life still must go on. A chinuch workshop for
Yeshivas Ner Israel was scheduled to take place in
our backyard shul area. How would people arrive
without streetlights to guide them? We directed
them from the highway and told them to head for
the only lit house on the block. Baruch Hashem, our
generator kept the Chesed Fund activities going!
Rabbi and Mrs. El, Workshop Teachers:
Chasdei Hashem, the power in the workshop
building was restored two hours before we
started our class. The Storch’s chessed flowed
all week. Although the yeshivah still didn’t have
its electricity back, the bachurim were in luck
that they had this workshop to attend. There
were literally truckloads of water arriving, which
volunteers handed out. Everyone appreciated
the comfortable accommodations even more
because it was a rare oasis amidst the general
chaos of the storm. I also got to see other chessed
in action. Mr. Storch organized additional
meetings with members of other community
organizations to assure that no one would be
stranded in an overheated home without help,
especially elderly people.
It was amazing to see the behind-the-scenes
work of people who are constantly involved in
chessed. They looked at this crisis as an opportunity
to give even more.
Thank you all for your stories! Maybe
Hashem sends storms to our communities
to remind us that people need people. With
our achdus and acts of chessed, we can join
together and overcome such emergencies
with kindness.
Binyan readers, do your communities have
chessed committees for storms? Maybe you
can volunteer and be a part of this chessed,
too!
A tree partially blocking Strathmore Avenue
Junior CERT members worked hard to help their fellow community members who were out of power. Free flashlight distribution, organized by the Chessed Fund and CERT7.
Hamodia Youth Magazine 9