APRIL 15 • 2021 | 21
them a pattern to follow.
“We don’t have to recreate
the wheel. There’s a wheel that
already exists,” Dandridge
said.
Noticing the burgeon-
ing partnership, the Max
M. & Marjorie S. Fisher
Foundation gave a grant to
support the BLD and HFL
partnership.
Doug Bitonti Stewart,
executive director of the
foundation and a mutual
friend of Contorer and
Dandridge, was key in the
process.
Contorer recalled, “As
I met with Dwan, Doug
found out about it and said,
‘I’m so glad you guys have
connected. You two should
be working together, and
we’re a Foundation that’s
going to be first in the water
to support your efforts.’”
Contorer added, “The
Fisher Foundation made
a significant grant and
will continue to make sig-
nificant grants to BLD to
support [Dwan’s] capacity
and encourage the ongoing
relationship between Dwan
and me and the sharing of
knowledge in the partner-
ship. [Dandridge] is like we
were in 1895. He’s just get-
ting his sea legs and putting
things together.”
Contorer hopes to even-
tually see serious numbers
of Black business owners
going to BLD for inter-
est-free loans to start up and
expand their businesses.
Dandridge hopes this
partnership is a sign of
more collaboration between
the Jewish and Black com-
munities.
“I would love to see our
communities step out of
the norm and find other
ways to partner,” Dandridge
said. “I think a lot of our
problems could be solved by
expanding our networks.”
Magen David Adom has been saving lives since 1930, some 18 years
before Israel became a state. We take immense pride in being Israel’s
national emergency medical service and in supplying the blood and
medical care for the soldiers who have ensured Israel’s existence.
Join us in celebrating Israel’s independence on Yom HaAtzma’ut.
Save a life in Israel. Support Magen David Adom
at afmda.org or call 888.674.4871.
Ever since there’s been an IDF
protecting Israel, there’s been
an MDA ensuring their health.
afmda.org