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PAGE 20 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE January 10, 1986
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Santa’s Jewish helpers
by Max Meltzer
Santa was plolzing. He'd been
up all night, preparing gifts for the
good Christian hoys and girls. His
elves were kvetthing about the
cold and exhaustion.
Mitten drinnen, he recalled the
plight of all the men and women
who have essential work to do,
work that must get done on Dec.
25, just as it must every other day
of the year. "If only they could be
relieved of their duties, so that they
could enjoy the holiday with their
families. Gevalt!” he exclaimed.
All of a sudden, there came a
knock at his condo door. Standing
there were two nice Jewish boys,
Gary Jackson and Lee Pauli.
“Nu?," said Santa.
‘‘Go, Santa, enjoy! As ambassadors
of good will from the Jewish
community, we will work at those
essentialjobs, promoting cooperation
and understanding among all people. ”
"A be gesund,” chortled Santa
as he rose through the clouds in his
sled.
A bobbe-myseh, you say? Not
quite, for on Dec. 25, 1985, members
of B’nai B’rith Gate City and Nachal
lodges—and unaffiliated members
of the Jewish community—did just
such a mitzva.
For the past four years, Gary
Jackson has coordinated the Gate
City Lodge “Pinch Hitter” Project,
providing Christmas Day volunteers
at the Scottish Rite Children’s
Hospital. A year ago, the Jewish
Home was added to the project.
This year, the Pinch Hitters were
aided by the Nachal Lodge “All
Stars” who helped out at the hospital.
Approximately 28 Pinch Hitters
worked at the Jewish Home, and
another 23 at the hospital, along
with almost 40 All Stars.
Gary Jackson worked at both.
His day started at 6:15 a m., when
he arrived with duty rosters at the
Scottish Rite Hospital. He brought
T-shirts for the volunteers to wear
for identification in high-security
areas. These T-shirts, this year 60
of them, are donated annually by
Milton Kamin of Milt Ramin
Associates.
At 6:55 a.m., Gary met with
kitchen workers at the Jewish Home.
He worked in the kitchen, cooking
and loadingtrays until 10a.m. For
the rest of the day he ran back and
forth between the Home and the
hospital, overseeing his staff of
volunteers.
Susan Milberg, director of
community volunteers at the Jewish
Home, has only the highest of
praise for him: “Gary was amazing.
The project was refined, sophisticated
and streamlined. Gary even came
prepared with floor plans and action
plans.”
Volunteers prepared and served
breakfast and lunch for the residents,
mopped floors, visited with residents,
and hosted the afternoon cocktail
party.
Not all the volunteers were lodge
members. Interior designer David
Jacobs, for example, worked a
two-hour shift at the Home this
year, even though he was leaving
for London the next day. An Atlanta
native, he remembers growing up
in a time when everyone in the
community knew everyone else. In
fact, he recognized many residents
at the Home and renewed old
acquaintances.
According to Mrs. Milberg, the
volunteers had a two-fold effect.
“Every person on the staff had
their work load at least lightened
because of the extra help." she
said. But just as important, she
added, was the effect on the residents:
“They respond to the action, the
life, the new faces, with delight. If
all the community could be this
involved throughout the year, it
would make a wonderful difference.”
Meanwhile, at the hospital, the
23 Pinch Hitters and 38 All Stars
had their hands full. The staffs
mood was low, because at 6:30
a.m. a three-year-old child had
died of leukemia. The volunteers
went to work, lifting everyone’s
spirits. They worked in the kitchen,
preparing meals. They cleaned the
cafeteria and undertook the
Herculean labor of painting the
floors in two cavernous boiler rooms.
A big challenge for Lee Pauli,
who coordinated the Nachal Lodge
effort, was the situation of a 15-
year-old Colombian boy with
reconstructive facial surgery. The
boy, who speaks only Spanish, was
very depressed and wanted to see
Santa. Dr. Doug Greenwald of
Kehillah Lodge gathered presents
for him and Julius Haberman donned
a Santa suit. Chief Nockahoma
(Levi Walker) was also corraled
into visiting with the boy.
But the language barrier was
keeping the boy isolated. Pauli
garnered the aid of Esther Low, a
native of Puerto Rico, who visited
the boy and brought him tapes of
Spanish music. Richard Floersheim,
who admitted that his Spanish was
rusty, took the opportunity to brush
it up conversing with the lad.
According to Mary Ellen Hignett,
director of volunteer services at the
hospital, the volunteers enabled
the hospital to run with a skeleton
crew. In addition to the tasks the
volunteers performed, “their presence
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in the midst of a skeleton crew
lifted everyone’s spirits. 1 can’t tell you
how grateful we are. Everybody
was wonderful.”
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inly a 10 minute cab ride
from Downtown
he Patio Restaurant
3349 Piedmont Rd.