He had a dream: “I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits.”
It is an ageless dream, for was it not written (Leviticus 19:34): “The stranger that dwells with you shall be to you as one born among you and you should love the stranger as yourself, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”
I too have a dream. I dream that the 22,000 children currently living in homeless shelters in the New York metro/Long Island area shall have real homes that are warm and safe and nurturing.
I dream that the thousands of senior citizens who lack the funds to buy sufficient food will no longer be hungry. I dream that the homeless veterans who served their country so honorably will have shelter, food, and the assistance they need to lead productive lives.
Dreams are fine, but without action on the part of each of us, they are worth little.
A reader who saw one of my recent articles wrote me a letter. He said, “I don’t have a lot but I have more than someone who is homeless. Please accept my $25 donation. I will try to send more.”
$25 doesn’t sound like a lot, but it will feed a dozen hungry children. It will feed seniors trying to survive on one meal a day; it will provide shelter and food for a homeless veteran who has neither.
If all the readers of this newspaper had the same compassion as the man who wrote me, imagine how much help organizations like the INN (Interfaith Nutrition Network) could render to those who have so little and need so much.
Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge…”
We know the challenge: 23 percent of our neighbors live below the poverty line.
One out of six children goes to bed hungry every night. Our seniors must choose between food and medicine because they can’t afford both. Our veterans carry the scars of war for which there are no cures.
One man can make a difference; together we can change the world. Please join me in supporting The INN which provides shelter, food, and support services to thousands of Long Islanders every week.
Donations may be mailed to: Dave Golbert, 7 Lee Court West, Great Neck, NY 11024. Please make your check payable to: The INN.
Your donation in whatever amount you can afford has the power to change someone’s life for the better.
It might also change your own.
“Let no one go hungry while there is food on our table.”
David Golbert
Great Neck
