Rochie Orimland of Crown Heights founded an organization following the sudden passing of her longtime friend Rashi Minkowicz obm, a shlucha in Alpharetta, Georgia, who passed away at the age of 37, 5 years ago, on the 10th of Adar.
After her dear friend’s passing, Orimland knew she wanted to do something in her memory.
“Rashi was a good friend more like an older sister to me,” Orimland says. “After seminary I lived in Alpharetta for a year doing shlichus and teaching in Rashi’s preschool and Hebrew school. It was an honor and privilege but even more it was a ton of fun!
“Rashi was 30 and a mother of 6, but she connected with us as if we were her peers. She taught me so much from basic cooking tips and teaching advice to hosting etiquette and more. We lived in our own apartment, but we practically lived in her home for a year,” Orimland describes.
“Anyone who knew Rashi, knew her love for shoes, and that’s why after her passing it just felt appropriate to start this in her memory,” she says.
The New Shoes For Kids Drive takes place twice a year, before the new school year and before Pesach, providing struggling Crown Heights families with new shoes for their growing children.
Every Sukkos and Pesach season over 150 children in need, many orphans and children from single parent homes, receive vouchers to buy brand new shoes.
To donate to the shoe drive for kids in Rashi’s memory, click here.
Keep it up!
It’s such an important thing when a kid comes to school with a new pair of shoes his or her confidence goes up. Kol Hakovod!