Grapevine: The Anglo factor in volunteerism

13.07.2011                      11.Tammus, 5771

Feature:

Grapevine: The Anglo factor in volunteerism

An award for feminist Alice Shalvi, a French Legion of Honor for conductor Zubin Mehta, and a medal for violinist Itamar Zorman.

THE ANGLO representation among this year’s recipients of the President’s Prize for Volunteerism was completely disproportionate to the number of Anglos in the population. At least four of the 12 honorees at Beit Hanassi last week were native English-speakers, as are many of the volunteers in their respective organizations and in some of the other organizations that received citations. It was exciting to see the reactions of family, friends and supporters as each citation was read out. They stood up, they cheered, snapped photos and basked in reflected glory.
Some, like those who came to cheer eminent oncologist Prof. Benjamin Corn – originally from Brooklyn, New York – were already thinking ahead to the celebration party at his home the following evening. His wife Dvora (Phyllis) had been planning it for weeks – from the moment, in fact, that she’d learned he was to be a recipient. A mental and family therapist, she is his partner at Tishkofet, which they founded in 2003 to help change perceptions of terminal illness and to demonstrate how quality can be imbued in the lives of patients and their families during the time left to them. She saw the party not only as a celebration, but also as a modest fundraiser: Invitees were asked not to bring gifts, but if they felt like it to donate to Tishkofet….