Op-Ed: Stop Bugging Me!
“Stop asking me to vote--bug off!”
That's what someone told one of my colleagues yesterday when asked to vote for a school to win $500,000 in the Kohl's contest.
My first reaction was, “Wow, is it really that annoying? Now that I am on the asking end of it I didn't think of that.” But then I remembered back to a year ago when Devorah Benjamin asked people to vote for her amazing organization, Keren Simchas Choson V'Kallah.
Was it annoying to vote? No, it was not annoying.
Was it annoying to get emails and texts about voting? No, it was not.
Who among us finds it physically or emotionally taxing to delete or ignore a message? But more importantly, who among us is incapable of understanding what these funds can do for an organization in need?
It is not annoying because you know that with one small action you can change the lives of many forever.
Speak to anyone who runs a school: A school is a financial black hole. The outgo will always exceed the income. This will never change. But tell me: What is more important to Klal Yisroel than Chinuch? That's the easiest question you will be asked all day. The answer is: NOTHING!
Torah Chinuch is what keeps us alive as a nation, but it is tremendously expense. Every yeshiva on the planet is weighed down with heavy burdens of debt. Teachers are underpaid, and in some cases unpaid. Supplies are sparse. Equipment is outdated and ineffective. Classrooms are lacking basic necessities. And with all these difficulties, many outstanding educators continue to do their jobs faithfully, keeping schools open against all odds and helping us raise the next generation of Chassidim.
Now... picture a school with beautiful, airy classrooms, state of the art equipment, new textbooks, smartboards, nice new furniture, safer playground equipment, art and music supplies that can help children express themselves, more professional trainings to give our teachers better tools for education, support staff like guidance counselors, Madrichim and Madrichos....the list goes on and on and on.
These are just some of the things OUR KIDS can enjoy with additional funds. And your vote will also give the school's head staff, PTA committee, or the local Shliach at least a couple of nights of sleep, knowing that some debts were paid off.
Are you picturing it? Now VOTE, and make the picture a reality for our schools! And replace your annoyance with a feeling of accomplishment: This, my friends, is Tzedaka!
Do it with a smile, knowing that it just might be your vote that brings half a million dollars worth of joy to a deserving group of children.
There are hundreds of Lubavitcher schools in the running. Decide which ones you want to vote for and use all 20 of your votes! Tizku L'mitzvos!
Click Here to see a list of Moisdos participating in the comeptition.
1. slightly annoyed wrote:
It is annoying when the same person asks you 75 times!! Asking someone is ok, though once is enough