A Call to Community Action

Greetings from Chicago. I flew in for a quick in-and-outer so that I could attend a dinner event for one of my main buddies, Steve-O.

Both he and his father (who I regard as my "Chicago father" and is a man I have just tremendous respect for) were honored by a local Jewish organization, Shalva, which provides much needed aid and services to women who are the victimes of domestic violence.

It was really a fantastic evening and I am glad I came in to surprise my friend. I was beyond proud of him (in Yiddish we would say "I was kvelling"): he and his father both were awarded a lifetime award for service to the Jewish community. This is especially staggering in Steve's case given that he is only 41. As part of the introductions they went through a list of his accomplishments and organizations he has either led or been a part of and it was beyond impressive that someone so young could give so much of himself to various important causes.

All that being said, it was also a very good reminder to myself (and hopefully other attendees as well) that giving back to the community should be one of the more important things we do in life. It also made me realize that on a personal level, I am not doing enough. So with that, I am going to look to get more involved with an organization that is closer to my heart: ThyCa. I've long felt that I need to support the cancer community and shame on me for not doing anything about it. But that will change as of now.

So, congrats, Steve-O and Neil-O: you are both terrific people and role models and it was an honor to be part of last night. Thank you for all that you have done for the Jewish community and thank you for inspiring me into action.