Hi!  Thank you for visiting my LBFE Bowl-a-thon fundraising page.  I have been volunteering once or twice a year for the past 10+ years.  On Thanksgiving and Christmas LBFE prepares and delivers delicious meals to lonely shut-in elderly residents of San Francisco.  Gifts are purchased, beautifully wrapped and delivered along with the meals on Christmas.  And EVERY recipient receives a gorgeous red rose.  I learned about LBFE because my synagogue Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco generously donates the use of its industrial sized kitchen and social hall facilities to LBFE every year.

For years I worked in the kitchen packaging the hot meals, and then one day I was “promoted” to the assignment desk where I assign specific seniors to volunteers who will deliver their meals.  I learned about a 92 year old woman who had been a ballet and flamenco dancer in "the day."  A woman with her 9 year old daughter approached and I said, "all she wants is her rose and a visit."  The girl said, "oh, we visited her last year."  I gave them the option of choosing someone different this year, but they decided to visit the woman once again.  They told me that she had many photos on her walls of herself as a beautiful young dancer and that she regaled them with interesting stories of her youth.  I thought that one day I must volunteer to deliver and visit to see for myself.

A couple of years ago, I discovered the gift wrapping day, a few days before Christmas, and I decided this was a must.  Even though I signed up late for this job, I said, "you must accept me for I can do this job well."  My mother in her clothing store (Kim's) in Dothan, Alabama taught me how to wrap with the least amount of paper, ribbon, and tape.  Each package still had to be perfectly wrapped, folding the paper in exactly the way she wanted it.  I wrapped thousands of gifts from age 10 to 22.  I knew I had been properly prepared to wrap for LBFE.

Now you see one reason why I am bowling for my mother Ida Schwartz.  Another one is that she was herself a mighty bowler up until the day of her stroke just before Thanksgiving in 1999.  I missed volunteering for LBFE that year.  Even with close family nearby who took wonderful care of her, my mother still felt alone and shut in during her last few years. 

LBFE does a terrific job in helping many lonely seniors in San Francisco.  Won't you please help them just a little bit by sponsoring my modest goal to break 100 in each game!?  (I never said I was a good bowler!!)  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much, Mauri