Generation to Generation

If your last name is Geliebter you are predisposed to two things. The first is having your name mispronounced, and the second is volunteering with the VFI/Sar-El program.

My grandmother, Edyth Geliebter, was a participant on the first Sar-El group in 1983, and has volunteered twenty-three times since. My cousins and I grew up hearing stories about her experiences. I even marched in the Salute to Israel Parade with VFI as a little girl, and was proud to be the only one in my class who could say that her grandmother had volunteered on an Israeli air force base.

For a while it was just Grandma who went, year after year, without fail. She did everything from working in kitchens and painting carburetors to testing helmet radios and cleaning equipment. When my oldest cousin, Rachel, turned sixteen, she decided to join her, and there began VFI/Sar-El: The Next Generation. The love of Israel that had been imbued in us grandchildren by our schools and family was being put to practice. When Cynthia, Rachel’s sister, reached the age of sixteen, she too volunteered with Grandma, and returned to the volunteer program another four times, even after making Allah five-and-a-half years ago at age nineteen. The most recent time was in September 2008, once again with Grandma, and for the first time, with me.
Although twenty-two, instead of the traditional age of sixteen, I was excited to finally experience VFI/Sar-El for myself. Grandma, Cynthia and I volunteered together on a medical supply base. We worked together for two weeks in a warehouse that specializes in preparing the knapsacks worn by field surgeons and combat medics. We spent our days filling the seemingly endless pockets of these bags with items that we often packaged on our own. Once complete, these knapsacks contained everything from blood pressure cuffs and alcohol pads to surgical scissors and syringes, and weighed in at around thirty pounds. As if that’s not heavy enough for our medics and surgeons, they also carry a supplement pack, which brings up the total weight to fifty pounds. I’m glad I’m not one of them! I was surprised to find out that the knapsacks are not only sent all over the country, they are sent all over the world. Whenever a natural disaster hits and Israeli aid is accepted, these are the bags that get used. We all felt proud knowing that we helped prepare those bags for use.

After work we’d help pass the time by throwing a tennis ball around until it got too dark to see. People frequently joined in our game, and were amazed at the power with which Grandma threw the ball. I’m not sure I’ll ever have as a good an arm as her.

I had a fantastic time on the volunteer program. So fantastic that I returned on my own in January of 2009 for a week of volunteering during Israel’s response to Hamas missile attacks on israel. I packaged food for the soldiers fighting in Gaza, and am extremely grateful that I had the opportunity to help out in a time of need. It’s due to the years of hearing about Grandma’s experiences on the program that I even thought about spending my last week of vacation in Israel doing what I did.

A little while after returning to New York I met an Israeli soldier who was given boxes of food like the ones I packed. He thanked me for donating my time to help the IDF and Israel, and told me how appreciative the soldiers are for all that the VFI/Sar-El volunteers do.
-Cheryl Geliebter