A growing, active chesed initiative based in the Highland Park/Edison area, which has already fielded more than 500 calls for assistance in the two years since it was established, has remarkably humble beginnings.
It started with a community member’s decision to form a WhatsApp group, merely out of curiosity.
Yosef Golubchik of Edison noticed that his wife had a WhatsApp women’s group that she raved about, telling him that it helped her get answers to questions about local matters and identified people who could assist her if she needed a helping hand. He decided to set up his own WhatsApp group, to see if there were ways the men in the community could help each other out.
Once he got the group going, and enlisted a few dozen guys in town to join it, he noticed that a large share of the posts were people seeking assistance with some type of car trouble. Yosef saw an opportunity for more focused support of the community.
He set up a new WhatsApp group dedicated solely to auto assistance and recruited two local friends—Boruch Zipper and Aryeh Berger, both from Edison—to help manage the new initiative. Jeff Klein and Dani Sabo, both Edison residents, also helped to launch the fledgling organization. They followed the model used in other frum communities nationwide, naming the group Chaverim of Middlesex County, and began recruiting volunteers. Currently they have 40 volunteers, 15 of whom are very active.
The most frequent requests they receive are for jump-starts, replacing flat tires and assisting people locked out of their cars or homes. The volunteers have specialized tools and equipment that aid them in completing the calls and are given in-house training by Aryeh as well as training by guest coordinators from other Chaverim branches across the tri-state area. All responders are instructed to practice standard Chaverim protocols for car and home lockouts, which deters thievery and protects the volunteers as well. All these services, and others, are provided free of charge.
They have also, on occasion, delivered fuel to people whose cars ran out of gas. For this one service, group members will ask for reimbursement of the cost of the gas.
The most complicated calls they’ve had involved children stuck in a locked car. Volunteers had to exercise extra caution, and enlist mom or dad to calm the kids, as they worked to open the lock.
One of the Chaverim volunteers responded to a request from someone who dropped their car keys down a storm drain and came up with a novel “hack” to retrieve them—he attached a very powerful magnet to a gartel and “fished out” the keys!
Most of the requests the group handles come from people whose cars are in Highland Park and Edison. Yet they have also covered calls in East Brunswick, North Brunswick and South Plainfield and they welcome calls from other areas in the county.
Boruch, who oversees the IT needs of the Chaverim of Middlesex County chapter, reports that the group now fields an average of one to two calls a day and more on the weekends, or over 400 calls a year.
The group’s leaders have recently taken a number of steps to make the group more formal. They worked with a pro bono lawyer and incorporated the group as a 501(3)c nonprofit entity. They set up a hotline, 732/844-3577 (732-84-HELPS), designed a logo for the group and began developing official IDs and screening procedures for all volunteers.
And in late November, Yosef and Boruch met with Highland Park Police Chief Rick Abrams to inform him of the services offered by Chaverim. They asked that the chief advise all his officers of the existence of the group, so they’re aware of their activities before they encounter a Chaverim volunteer at work. The chief, in turn, gave Yosef and Boruch useful advice and offered his support of the group.
Beneficiaries of Chaverim of Middlesex County’s services are often very grateful and enthusiastic about the group. Though the volunteers never ask for any fees (except when providing gas), the group has received a number of donations, including a few checks for $100.
One happy “customer” of Chaverim, Mikey Cooper of Edison, commented recently: “Chaverim has been an incredibly helpful resource for me and my family. One Sunday morning, I was responsible for taking carpool for a number of families. Unfortunately, the car would not start and I needed assistance ASAP. I reached out to a Chaverim volunteer, who came over on a moment’s notice and jump-started my car. There have been many other times when we’ve needed similar assistance and Chaverim volunteers have always been incredibly generous with their time to make sure that we are well taken care of. The community needs a resource like Chaverim and we are incredibly grateful for the continued help and support they provide.”
By Harry Glazer
