ActionIsrael in Colorado
expands their book drive --
and Mordechai Guttsman visits B4I Israel
 

More Than 4,600 Books Sorted, Labeled, Boxed
and Delivered to the Post Office!
24 Boxes of Books Mailed Out to Schools in Kohav Yaakov
29 Boxes of Books Mailed Out to for Schools in the Merom HaGalil area
and 9 More Boxes of Books on their way to Schools in Buena Nujidaat and Elibun!

Sunday, November 30th found a small group of volunteers, ages 6 to 76, sorting and labeling over 4,000 books.  Over 20 volunteers came to sort books in categories, affix donation stickers and tape up over 60 boxes of books to go to flagship schools in Elibun, Merom HaGilil and Mizrach Binyamin.  Within about 5 hours, with busy hands not even stopping for a lunch break, all was done and then a convoy left for the main post office in downtown Denver, Colorado.  Postal workers were expecting us and were very patient while processing the many boxes.  They were given two dozen home-baked chocolate chip cookies to thank them for their cheerful, patient assistance.  This was definitely a group effort, from the generous use of the building to those who stayed to break down empty boxes - every hand was needed and made this packing day a true success!

Tami Knopping and Lynne McDowell - ActionIsrael Books for Israel Project Coordinators      

Click on the thumbnail image to see an enlargement
(Please note, all individuals are named reading left to right unless otherwise specified)

YES -
WE HAD TO RENT A  U-HAUL !!
To handle the thousands of books that had been amassed after the initial screening removed those books of content or quality that were unsuitable for public school libraries, we needed a truck and lots of helping hands!
 

Barb Guttsman, Elaine Halford, and Tami Knopping start out by labeling donated books before the sorting process begins.

Lynne McDowell gives everyone
a quick training session in
how to sort books by
reading levels.
Type size, vocabulary, illustrations and page layout give important
clues. Lynne explains the criteria.
 

Some of the boxes of hundreds of books
that came in from the seventeen collection points in Denver are unloaded from the truck and await labeling and sorting.

Jeremiah, Joan, and Sabrina Baronberg sort books by age levels. In the background, Chuck Michael sorts paperback volumes.
 

Neil Price, Barb and Bob Guttsman (front), and Chuck Michael (back).

Sorting and more sorting!

 Our benefactors of the facility at the
Hebrew Educational Alliance:
Neil Price and Jamie Spurrier

Joyce sorting books.

Lynne discovers another pile of unlabeled books and begins labeling, labeling, labeling...

Neil, Sara, and Jamie confer about levels of the books.
 

Tens of people worked on shifts for several hours during the day, and some volunteered from morning until night.
It was quite the assembly line!

Chuck Michaels is joined by his son in labeling more books.
 

Sorting, sorting, sorting!
Corine Miller and Tami Knopping.

Corine Miller takes on
the last stack of unlabeled books. No book went out without
a label bearing a message
of love and care
from the good people in Denver
to children in Israel!

Even the young came out to help!
Here Benjamin and Samuel discuss in which pile a favorite book belongs.

Mordechai Guttman visits B4I Israel

Over a bowl of soup, Mordechai discusses Israeli politics with Jade.
 		 The typical smiling wink with which        David Hyatt, flagship coordinator at Ulpana Meron and some of the Ulpana
Mordechai greets any problem.              students who met Mordechai during the presentations he made at school that day.

Anyone lucky enough to meet
Mordechai Guttsman will agree that he is
quite a character!
Bob Guttsman, known in Israel as "Mordechai" visited Israel shortly after ActionIsrael's massive sorting and boxing effort was completed. Mordechai, as noted above, made a tremendous
and successful effort at fundraising to mail out all those thousands and thousands of books.

But this was not Mordechai's first visit. Originally, Mordechai had come to Israel with his family from Europe shortly after the Holocaust. He grew up in Israel and was employed as an army cook during the 1948 Israel War of Independence. Mordechai had dreams of being a chef. At some point in his travels while studying restaurant work abroad, Mordechai met Barbara in Denver, Colorado. The two got married and settled down in Barbara's hometown.
Although Mordechai and Barbara's children grew up in Denver, they and the grandchildren have
heard many stories about Mordechai's adventures before he came to America. The Denver book drive was an opportunity for all of them to close some circles and do something for Israel.

While Mordechai visited family in Israel, he also kindly made a stop over to visit Jade and Ilan Bar-Shalom at their home. He delivered copies of the wonderful photographs shown above
and told incredible stories about the Denver drive and his own life.
.
He then rushed off the next morning to Ulpana Meron where 29 boxes of books
are expected to arrive by late March 2004.  Speaking in the English lessons as a
special guest of the Ulpana, Mordechai explained the Denver book drive effort to students
there and in general conveyed message of love, support, and hope from all the
wonderful communities and individuals in Denver who are making this incredible effort possible.

Thank you, Mordechai!

We do hope to see you again!

(Click here to read the introduction to
ActionIsrael's Colorado Book drive)

(Click here to read the November 2004 update-
Tami Knopping visits Israel)