Everyone that reads this -or any other- Orthodox Jewish website is used to seeing shocking stories about the urgent need to raise money for some unfortunate family that is in desperate financial straits due to some tragedy.
This story is different. It’s about a family that could easily have been one of those stories, but wasn’t.
Judy (not her real name, obviously) is the mother of multiple children, some of them unfortunately in need of special medical attention. She herself is not in the best of health. If this wasn’t enough of a burden on her, her husband left her some time ago and because he only works for cash has managed to avoid giving her any funds at all. She came close to becoming homeless several times before managing to get government benefits and a secure a roof over her and the children.
Obviously, this situation could not be relied on for the long term.
As soon as her youngest started school, Judy chose to consult with the CH CAP program. This program (full name Crown Heights Career Assessment Program) has been working in the Shechuna for almost 15 years, has seen over 2500 Chassidim pass through, and has given many of them grants for their education towards Parnassah in addition to the guidance needed to finding a career and later a good job. It’s goals are to enable every member of the community earn a respectable living that will allow him or her to thrive and support their family and community honorably with self-respect and without government assistance. It is privately funded by a generous donor who prefers to remain anonymous. The program is managed by the Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island. It is also helped greatly by the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council.
Together with CH CAP, Judy reawakened her childhood dreams of becoming a nurse. Having been a good student in high school, her language and math skills (along with her strong drive to obtain a professional education that would solve her money issues while providing her with personal satisfaction) were enough to get her into a good nursing school. Add in a grant from CH CAP and two and a half years of hard work, and she has obtained her New York State nursing license and can proudly call herself a Registered Nurse (R.N.) . She was immediately recruited for a full-time nursing position in one of New York’s most famous hospitals, and is supporting herself and her children with dignity while doing work that is not only fulfilling but is a daily opportunity for Kiddush Hashem. She no longer needs government handouts or to humiliate herself using food stamps, but instead is a taxpayer and able to pay not just her rent but also her children’s tuitions and medical costs.
This true story is only an example of what can be achieved. CH CAP has helped Anash (men and women) become software engineers, accountants, respiratory, speech, and massage therapists, EMT’s, security specialists, CDL drivers, sonographers, pharmacists, and a hundred other career professionals. You too can jumpstart your path to a fulfilling career, if you are serious about earning a Parnassah by learning towards any professional career. CH CAP has already helped train and /or place over 1000 Crown Heights residents in career-track positions.
For more information, call or WhatsApp Yossi Ginzberg at 347.749.1042 or write him at [email protected]. There are NO fees for this assistance.
CH CAP itself does not give any courses, it only helps people find careers and the schools that can train them for those careers. Qualified Parnassah training may also get financial assistance.
“Give a man a fish, and he will eat for the day, teach a man to fish and he will eat for the rest of his life” wrote the Chinese scholar Lao Tzu.
Thank you Yosef Ginsberg for all you have done to help others