Chasdei Lev Bi-Annual Food Distribution at Clover Stadium

By M.C. Millman

Sunday's mega-food distribution event by Chasdei Lev took place at Clover Stadium yesterday, with countless volunteers assisting in the distribution in a show of appreciation for rebbeim and moros.

Chasdei Lev's mission is to give back to rebbeim, teachers, and their families in a show of hakaras hatov for their tremendous devotion to their students. The organization aims to ensure teachers can go into Yom Tov with peace of mind.

"This Sunday was a beautiful day, but it wasn’t only the weather," Shmuli Fromovitz, Village of Chestnut Ridge Trustee, tells Rockland Daily. "In the parking lot of Clover Stadium, volunteers and their families loaded up 876 orders into the cars and vans of Rebbeim and teachers in an effort to show appreciation for all of the work and toil  they put into our children throughout the year. Under the exceptional leadership and coordination of my brother-in-law and sister-in-law Shimi and Chayie Schlisselfeld, who dedicate many months of the year to this project, we were able to show the mechanchim of our children along with their families that we are so appreciative of their efforts. Many of us planned Chasdei Lev around our family vacations since our children weren’t going to want to miss the Chasdei Lev event no matter what. It was heartwarming watching so many Yeshiva boys off from camp and school, spending six hours of their day climbing into cars and lifting heavy boxes to ensure each order fit into the Rebbi’s vehicle. Watching the kids give a huge thank you to the Rebbeim and teachers is guaranteed to put an instant smile on your face. To add to the excitement, there was an ice cream truck giving out ice cream and ice cold slush to the volunteers on this hot summer day which was truly refreshing."

Chasdei Lev has ensured peace of mind for 35,000 rebbeim/moros and their families with a one hundred percent volunteer staff. Utilizing a unique combination of donations and subsidies, as well as by buying directly from manufacturers and distributors in bulk, Chasdei Lev provides a service where Rebbeim and moros at participating yeshivas can order large quantities of food and household necessities at a quarter of the standard price.

"The work Chasdei Lev does is remarkable!" Senator Bill Weber shares with Rockland Daily. "They have so many volunteers and really expert coordination considering the tremendous amount of food they distributed today with separate pallets and stations for each type of food. I was extremely impressed with how well run the entire operation was. It was amazing to see, and I appreciate being a part of helping an organization that is there to support our educators and, thereby our children."

The process works because participating yeshivas agree to bear a significant portion of the cost for their staff. Each Rebbe gets to shop from a list of carefully selected food items and household necessities purchased by Chasdei Lev at drastically reduced prices.

"If you haven’t been to a Chasdei Lev distribution before," Fromovitz concludes, "mark your calendar for a Sunday a few weeks before next Pesach. You’ll be saying thank you to the dedicated Rebbeim and teachers, and your children will be thanking you, too for the amazing experience."