Dear Members of the DailyKos community,
Last year, after the Haiti earthquake, I started reading TexMex’s diaries about ShelterBox and the wonderful work that they do. I realized that my Bar Mitzvah was looming closer and closer and I had not yet chosen a mitzvah project. For those of you who do not know, every Bar or Bat Mitzvah child is obligated to undertake a project to do Tikkun Olam, Hebrew for repairing the world. These projects can be anything from collecting old cell phones to be recycled for domestic violence victims, or raising money for a foundation, organization, or cause. I decided to raise money for ShelterBox as my mitzvah project.
Yesterday, because the weather is finally beginning to warm up, I embarked upon my project. My mom, edsbrooklyn, and I set up a bake sale outside of our house. “Chocolate chip cookies for charity! Cookies for a cause!” We talked to anyone who would listen about this organization, and those who could not, or would not, buy a cookie or 12 went away with a brochure or flyer about ShelterBox. At the end of the day, we had raised over two hundred dollars. Not bad for three hour’s work, and it's only the first of many bake sales.
Now is where you come in. After the Haiti earthquake, DailyKos members were extremely generous and donated enough money for 140 boxes over the course of a year. That’s one hundred forty thousand dollars. If you are planning on donating to ShelterBox, and I urge you to do so, I would be honored, if, when you donate, you mention Brooklyniac (me), so that I can track how much money comes in due, at least in part, to my efforts.
If you are not planning on donating, I would at least like to ask you to take a look at their website, shelterboxusa.org, to learn more about the great work that they do. I have contacted the people at ShelterBox, and they are very excited about my project. The unfolding crisis in Japan requires that we all do as much as we can. I hope you can support ShelterBox in some way. Thank you so much.