MITZVAH PEOPLE

E

JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER

OF METROPOLITAN DETROIT

sms-T soo- d - Floficla The
Palms
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n
1990
JANUARY 17 - FEBRUARY 7, 1990
3 FULL WEEKS

Have You Seen
A Giraffe Lately?

DANNY SIEGEL

2 UNIQUE PROGRAMS TO CHOOSE FROM

SANS SOUCI HOTEL

THE PALMS

34th & Ocean

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$1.32900

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1989

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iraffes are people who
stick their neck out.
In Jewish terms,
they are people who stick
their neck out to perform acts
of Tzedekah, Justice and
Righteousness, who fix up the
world in small and big ways.
They take risks, sometimes
very personal, heavy risks, to
set things right where a mess
has been left by people, by
nature, by whatever.
Trevor Ferrell is a famous
Giraffe: he's the kid in Phil-
adelphia who feeds, houses,
and finds a permanent home
and employment for the
street people of his city.
Janet Marchese of White
Plains, N.Y., who has helped
place over 1,500 infants with
Down Syndrome in adoptive
homes, is a Giraffe.
Ranya Kelly is a Giraffe.
She has gotten over 15,000
pairs of shoes to homeleess
and poor people — shoes that
were being thrown out by
shoe stores in Denver.
Another Giraffe blew the
whistle on Agent Orange and
its relation to cancer while
working in a VA hospital, for
which she was fired.
There are 500 Giraffes, and
more being discovered every
few months.
Ann Medlock of Whidbey
Island, Washington, and her
crew of searchers and re-
searchers and writers are set
on telling everyone about
Giraffes. It's her idea, and it's
one of the best I've seen. It's
simple, powerful, inspira-
tional, and — most of all —
useful. I try to make a point
of meeting Giraffes when I
am out on the road for speak-
ing engagements of just
visiting people.
What Ann does is this: she
gets people to be Giraffe Spot-
ters: people from everywhere
send her articles, or write let-
ters, or tell her they heard or
saw some radio or TV spot
about a Giraffe-type person.
She and her gang track them
down, check them out, and if
it is determined that the per-
son only does indeed do these
large or small acts of Right
and Just and Good things,
and if there is an element of
risk involved, she and her
committee award them the ti-
tle of Giraffe, complete with
certificate, but no money. She
then publicizes their work in
The Giraffe Gazette and sends
out 30-second news relases to
local media in an attempt to
get their work publicized. She

wants — we all want — the
Giraffes to gain greater sup-
port, to be strengthened in
their ever-so-important work.
(In Yiddish, we would say,
their "Giraffekeit.")
It's not that the Giraffes are
seeking fame, fortune, or ego-
strokes. Indeed, most of them
are not that kind of person,
but they need the publicity so
they can take their work fur-
ther, alleviating suffering and
getting more decency and
fairness plugged into com-
munities or states or the
country or the world.
Now The Giraffe Gazette is
a wonderful newsletter. It
comes out four times a year,
and each issue is more than
30 pages long. It keeps grow-
ing, and it keeps getting bet-
ter and better and more and

It's not that the
Giraffes are
seeking fame,
fortune, or
ego-strokes.

more astounding: so many
good people willing to stick
their necks out, so much
variety in everyday people do-
ing such good things.
You also get occasional
sheets of media releases, the
short texts of Giraffe projects
that are sent out to the radio
and TV stations, little sum-
maries you can use to read to
friends or teach your classes.
And, of course, you can get
Giraffe T-shirts and sweat-
shirts and coffee mugs. It's
shoestring fundraising, but it
seems to work. Ann and the
crew are honest and respon-
sible with the funds. No one's
getting rich on the backs of
Mitzvah people, on the long
backs of these Giraffes.
Here's what to do:
1. Call 1-800-344-TALL.
2. Send in $25.00 for member-
ship. You'll get the newslet-
ters and press releases, and
discounts on regalia. (My Gir-
affe t-shirts get a lot of atten-
tion when I am out walking.)
3. Ask for copies of the
"Giraffe Sighting Report" so
you can be on the look-out in
the media for Giraffes, so you
can pass on the information
to Ann and her gang, so the
cycle can continue: more Gir-
affes, more people learning
about Giraffes, more people
joining in Giraffe work.

4. And don't forget to tell
them how good it is — for a
change — to read some good
news in the the news.

❑

