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JUNE 4, 2020 The |Jewish HomeHome OCTOBER 29, |2015 The Jewish
essica Tsur is not just the founder of Levli Gemach in Bayswater, NY. She also has given voice to an invisible disease that many in our community struggle with.
Mrs. Tsur, you are the founder of the Levli Gemach. Levli is a clothing gemach that provides new and gently used clothing for children and women. We have the unique ability to give stores and manufacturers a full tax-receipt for whatever they donate to us, which gives us the ability to access a high volume of new, good quality clothing. We are particular about what is kept in the gemach, so that families who come can shop with pride and dignity. Our customers are hard-working families doing their very best to provide for their families and struggling at the same time. Levli tries to take a small burden off their shoulders. No one is embarrassed to come. In fact, so many tell me they look forward to our gemach events as they get beautiful merchandise and an opportunity to connect with others in similar situations. We sell items at rock bottom prices from fifty cents to just six dollars, and all proceeds go towards our camp scholarship fund.
What is really unique about Levli is that it’s a triple win! Stores and manufacturers get a tax receipt while helping others and we accomplish two mitzvos – clothing families and helping send kids to camp. How long ago did you start Levli, and what made you start it? I started Levli during Hurricane Sandy. Our community was hit hard, and many families lost all their belongings. But there are no other people like the Jewish people. From near and far, people were sending clothes to families in need. These clothes needed a home. We all had jobs during this time, and this was the job I took upon myself. I quickly learned that this need wasn’t exclusive to Sandy; there were so many families that needed this yearround! I began to brainstorm how to bring in new merchandise and expand the gemach’s services. We are so grateful to the Bayswater Neighbors Fund for allowing
us to write tax receipts under their organization. This has allowed us to get beautiful, in-style merchandise for our families. It brings such joy and glowing smiles to so many faces. That is quite remarkable, to take a one-time crisis and turn it into a full time chessed! How did Levli get involved in summer camp scholarships? We are a hard-working family that struggles financially. I run an at-home day care and summer camp. One summer, a parent of a camper of mine asked why my own children, not age appropriate for my camp, were with me. I explained that camp simply wasn’t in the budget. This mother went above and beyond, and the next day told me my kids were enrolled in day camp for the remainder of the summer! That’s when it hit me. What do parents who don’t work from home do? Their children need to be in a safe and healthy environment! We all know how important camp is for all children and families!
This is when phase two of Levli began. With the proceeds of the clothing and a little side fundraising we are able to offer small camp scholarships to dozens of families. Baruch Hashem, in the last five years, we’ve been able to give over 150 summer camp scholarships! Our mantra is “dress in style, give a smile.” How has running the gemach affected your family? I think everything we add to our plate puts a strain in our family but it also adds a great deal of value to our family’s internal makeup. There are times when my children need to wait for my attention as I’m busy with the gemach. The gemach was in my living room/playroom for a few years and took up some of their playing space but they also got the joy of seeing how many people benefited from this chessed. Now, my five children are constantly asking, “Are we having gemach hours today?” They are active participants in counting and sorting and greeting people by
