This past Motzei Shabbos, March 5, Brooklyn Chaveirim celebrated its 20th annual Member appreciation Melave Malka, at the luxury Indigo Hotel in Williamsburg. Recognizing their members who selfishly devote themselves to helping the community for the past 20 years. Members were treated to a lavish dinner by Cube Events and a grand musical performance by the Shea Kaller orchestra, Shira choir and singing sensation Lipa Shmeltzer.
The event was also honored by the presence of many elected officials including Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, State senator Simcha Felder, Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein, Councilman Kalmen Yager, and Senior advisor to Mayor Adams – Yoily Eisdorfer. Borough President Reynoso presented Chaveirim with a Proclamation Certificate recognizing the efforts and contributions to the community throughout the past 2 decades. The dinner was also graced by the presence of NYPD Inspector Richie Taylor and NYPD Lieutenant Ira Jablonskly – 2 true friends of Chaveirim and the Flatbush Community.
Founded by R’ Ahron Yitzchok Kohn in 2001- with just a few volunteers – no one ever dreamed that Chaveirim would look like it does today. Today, with over 400 members serving Boro Park, Flatbush, Williamsburg, Catskills, Bloomingburg and their surrounding areas, Brooklyn Chaveirim answers well over 35,000 calls annually. Last year alone Chaveirim received over 40,000 calls! Since its inception, Brooklyn Chaveirim has helped over half a million callers. “A vision never thought possible, 20 years ago we started with 40 volunteers and helped 70 callers per week, now we have 400 volunteers, and we help over 700 callers a week!” Says R’ Kohn. With calls from boosts, flat tires, house/car lockouts, to floods, power outages, and no heat, Chaveirim is truly an organization the community can rely on. R’ Kohn further stated, “When we started out, our goal was to help primarily with car related issues. Over the years, the community has come to rely on us for a host of other issues such as flooding, portable heaters, animal control situations, and fallen trees – to name a few – and we answered their call. Over the past few years, we have purchased tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment to better assist in these situations.”
Chaveirim is thankful to the entire Brooklyn Community who has stood behind them for the past 2 decades. Over the past year Chaveirim has made significant investments to better help the communities they serve, including purchasing 2 response vehicles for their Flatbush and Williamsburg Divisions and a special operations truck for their Boro Park Division. “We are extremely grateful to the entire Brooklyn community for their support to make this happen.” Says R’ Kohn
While in the past, the Catskills was primarily inhabited only during summer season, the past few years saw a tremendous increase of families moving upstate year-round. Seeing a significant uptick in calls during the winter months, the Catskills Division recruited additional 20 new members who live in the Catskills to be available in assisting the Catskills Community. They also invested heavily in specialized equipment including purchasing generators, chainsaws, and flood equipment.
Everyone in Brooklyn and the Catskills knows that whatever and whenever the need, there’s only one organization to call – Brooklyn Chaveirim….Friends you truly can count on.
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