Demand for French Fries Led to Creation of Ze Lozeh

By Chanie Kozliner

It all began with my quest for oil. Oil that would ultimately be the catalyst for an outpouring of magnificent kindness.

Initially, I had plans to spend Pesach with my brother and sister-in-law, Rabbi Moshe and Rivka Leah Gurary, at their thriving campus Chabad House in Buffalo. We had grand plans to take scenic hikes along the Niagara Gorge, pet llamas in Amish country, and enjoy fun bike rides with the cousins. As the Corona crisis consumed our community like wildfire, our plans shifted.

My sister in law customarily does her pre-Pesach shopping in Crown Heights. Being that no one was traveling, I was concerned with how she would manage to cook meals for the students without having her long list of ingredients available. In particular, I was determined to obtain oil for my sister in law so that she could make her famous crispy french fries.

I began calling various stores, thinking Toronto would be my best bet because of proximity.

A friend of mine informed me of a Toronto chessed group who might be able to assist.

I promptly joined their WhatsApp group and messaged the administrator with my request. I inquired if anyone was traveling to the border, and if they could perhaps bring groceries with them. He told me he would ask around and see if this was feasible.

After contacting the administrator, I scrolled through the chat and was astounded by what I saw.

Literally every minute the phone was buzzing with notifications of requests. Anyone going to Bathurst? Can anyone take care of shopping at Savour’s? Pick up a bag at Hermes? This was a WhatsApp group that was bustling with non-stop chesed. I was intrigued.

Immediately I realized how necessary it would be to create the same group for Crown Heights. The system looked so efficient and expeditious. I proceeded to message the founder of the group, Favie Mund in Toronto. I asked if he would be able to assist in setting up the system up in Crown Heights. His enthusiastic affirmative response was heartwarming.

Faivy asked if I could recruit some more members and he would then help me format the group, and get things up and running.

Within minutes, I watched the domino effect.

I contacted Moshe Pinson of Bais Shmuel and asked if he could get involved. Moshe said that he had members of his shul who would be interested, and Moshe Feiglin had willing volunteers as well. I began making more calls involving Hatzala and Chaveirim members.

After some logistical and technical adjustments, the Crown Heights group was all set up – bright logo and all. Within a few hours a group that would become a lifeline for the quarantined was active.

The uniqueness of Ze Lozeh is the way it is managed. People are able to call a live dispatcher as many of the quarantined are elderly and not tech-savvy. The call is answered immediately and the request is dispatched to a Whatsapp volunteer group. Within minutes the request is matched with an able volunteer. To protect privacy, all requests are done through directly instant messaging the volunteer. After each task is fulfilled the volunteer is personally thanked on the group. Of course all of our volunteers take the required precautionary safety measures.

Our phones were instantly flooded with requests. The calls were coming in around the clock. Our dedicated volunteers waited patiently in all kinds of weather as the lines grew at the pharmacies, groceries, and appliance stores. Below are just a few examples of the frenzy.

One woman called at midnight, asking for a ride back from the hospital.

Many people needed prescriptions filled urgently at the pharmacies.

There were a number of massive vegetable distributions that required large vehicles. One volunteer picked up seventeen cases of apples and delivered them to all of the families in a single building.

Calls came in at the last minute asking for Seder essentials.

There were many families who needed dinners for a multitude of reasons. Within minutes there were numerous sponsors from Crown Heights and beyond willing to pay for these meals.

Some even called in need for immediate medical attention and Hatzalah was called.

One man asked for food since he hadn’t eaten in days.

People were looking for Tylenol, Gatorade, masks, gloves and vitamins as many stores were out of stock.

One elderly woman hadn’t responded to calls for many hours and her family needed someone to check and make sure she was ok

Volunteers ran from street to street filling requests. Our brave lamplighters – lightening the load of individuals, block by block illuminating Crown Heights with the flames of goodness and kindness.

I am awestruck by the outpouring of love and kindness that members of this community have shown. I would like to take this opportunity on this public forum to thank all of the people who have been spreading light during these dark times.

I am humbled and inspired by the love, kindness, and unity that this community has shown throughout this painful chaos.

I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to the wonderful dispatchers: Shaindel Levertov, Mordy Meyers, Rivky Raskin, Manya Sperlin and all our volunteers who gave their time, tirelessly filling requests around the clock.

A special thank you to Rickie Mund who went above and beyond in being involved from afar with each and every Crown Heights need ensuring that every caller was taken care of despite her heavy involvement in Toronto Zelozeh.

I’m forever grateful to Favie Mund for giving me the opportunity to help hundreds of people.

Special appreciation is owed to the original core volunteer group from Toronto who monitored the out-of-town chats and helped to ensure that the setups in 13 cities ran smoothly. Thank you Chaim Sachs, Mordechai Kanner, Naftuli Griffel, and Dovid Kanner who helped coordinate the effort.

Just as oil is produced from the pressing of olives, our incredible dispatchers and volunteers rose to the occasion during a time of crisis – giving their very best.

It all began with my quest for oil. Oil that would ultimately be the impetus for an outpouring of magnificent kindness.

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If you would like to receive help from the group please call 332-217-1718.

Please comment below to show appreciation for this incredible collective effort and to thank the dedicated volunteers.