Give

August 26, 2007 - 7:35 AM by Stephanie

A few days ago I passed Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square and saw dozens of sealed cardboard boxes awaiting de-construction. The square often plays host to celebrations, public protests, attractions and events so I sorta figured it was just another happening.

A day later, passing again, I glanced and saw a sea of white. Chairs. Must’ve been chairs in the boxes, I thought. Is Rabin’s memorial service coming up?

Yesterday I cut through the square en route to an appointment and discovered that the white sea wasn’t chairs at all. They were hundreds and hundreds of cardboard cut-out stick figure type people, each about 4 feet tall. Ooh, an art installation! I thought.

But on the back of each cardboard figure an insignia was stamped: A million people don’t have enough to eat. A million people are hungry.

This very public awareness campaign is the kick off of Latet (Hebrew: Give) Organization’s food drive to raise money and bring food to the tables of a million people in Israel who otherwise may not have enough to eat during the upcoming holidays. If you understand Hebrew, follow the link to their website and watch the video. It’s heart wrenching.

Ways you can help:

- Make a ten-shekel donation by dialing 1090 from your mobile phone and typing in the number 10.
- Get involved: Offer your services to Latet. Help collect or distribute food packages, answer phones at a call center…Ask what they need and fill in the gap
- Give at your local supermarket collection point. Pick up an extra package of rice or long shelf-life milk or baby formula while shopping and drop it into a collection box on the way out of the supermarket. Boxes go up September 5

If you have enough to eat this Rosh Ha’Shana, make sure someone else does too.

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