If you see something, do something. A good credo to live by but rare is the person who does so. We’re not bad people. Just a bit lazy. Maybe unwilling to veer off or normal routine or go out of our comfort zone. We may want to help but don’t know how. We’re too shy to approach a person, afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing. And so we remain where we are imprisoned by our insecurities, in our own bubble, as they secretly cry within themselves thinking that no one cares.
Not so Chilik, a dedicated Ezer Mizion volunteer. He saw something. He saw families beset by serious illness with not a second to spare as they rushed through their day trying to juggle work, family and care of a loved one. He saw his own wife poring over her recipe book to decide on the tastiest meals for Yom Tov (holidays). She spent hours shopping and then in the kitchen creating the culinary delights to make Yom Tov special. And he thought of those other families. There was not a moment in their daily schedules to make any Yom Tov preparations and even if there were, there was no headspace for anything except the latest doctor’s prognosis.
Chilik saw something and he did something. He made the rounds of grocery stores asking for product donations. Potato knishes and cheese blintzes for a chol hamoed supper. Those cute little fish sticks ready to pop into the oven. A giant bag of barbecue chips? The kids will be so excited. Chocolate bars. Sandwich cookies. Cotton candy – a case of pink for girls and a case of blue for the boys. Boxes of assorted chocolates for the adults. Chicken already barbecued to perfection. An array of cold cuts to suit every palate. Cases of soda and apple juice. Yom Tov paper goods. The list goes on and on.
Chilik then approached his friends who opened their hearts and donated money to enable these families to order their personal preferences. Who could resist Chilik’s impassioned plea!
And then came the climax of Chilik’s project. Delivery Day! Each box was neatly packed. Each item wrapped in heartfelt caring. Each bell answered in disbelief and joy. Faces that hadn’t smiled in days were covered with smiles and enormous relief.
“How did you know?!”
“This is amazing!”
“You thought of everything!”
“The children will be thrilled!”
That’s our Chilik! He saw something and jumped right in to do something. Discomfort, shyness – they fell by the wayside because he understood that this was not about him and he made their needs the center of his efforts. Chilik, like all the Ezer Mizion volunteers, has truly absorbed the Ezer Mizion motto: We’re there when it hurts.
