In a Good Light

profile of a Baruch student/staff member

firehouse hero

name

Ben Spaeth

graduation

2014

major

Corpotate Communications

life as a volunteer

I started as a probe at the Firehouse at sixteen. It took many of months of training to work my way up the ladder and become a full-fledged firefighter. I joined because I was bored of school. When I learned I could volunteer to help random strangers and give back to my community I jumped at the opportunity. Joining the fire department has been one of the greatest decisions of my life. The grateful smile of a victim saved from injury or death is priceless and the reason I continue volunteering.

about the dangers of the job

There are inherent risks to being a firefighter. When I was in the academy one of our instructors would always tell us, “If you die in a fire you are not a hero.” I must take proper precautions to protect my life when going in to save another. I have witnessed many tragedies since joining, yet I have helped save countless homes and extricated dozens of people from the jaws of death during bad car accidents.

cautious for the holidays

The advice I give people lighting a menorah during Chanukah or other exposed fire during the holidays is simple. Please take the proper safety measures.:

(1) Make sure there are no flammable items close by that can catch on fire, such as tablecloths or drapes (2) Surround the candles with fire-retardant material. (Tinfoil around the table you are lighting the menorah on is always a great precaution.)

(3) Avoid leaving the burning candles unattended. Actually, in Jewish tradition, part of the mitzvah of kindling the lights of Chanukah is to watching them for a time as they burn.

my message to fellow Baruchians

Remember that were are all here to help others, even if it is the simple act of holding the door for a stranger. Try to spread as much goodness and kindness as you can; I can attest that the reward for doing so is incredible.

save a world

In the aftermath of the bombings, the city of Boston saw a great outpouring of kindness, as athletes lined up to donate blood to the victims. A fellow Baruchian speaks of blood donation of a different sort.

name Joseph Fishman

graduation 2014

major Master’s of Public Administration

what I did

I registered for bone marrow donation through Gift of Life Foundation.* For many sufferers of leukemia or other blood-related diseases, a bone marrow transplant is their sole chance for a cure. A bone marrow registry filters through thousands of volunteers like myself to find as close a genetic match as possible.

my inspiration

I heard about donating bone marrow five years ago when my Uncle Jonathan was identified as a potential donor for a leukemia patient. After talking it out with his wife and Rabbi, he decided to go through with the donation. After the procedure, which was lengthier and more intrusive than it is today with the advancement of medicine, the family who received his marrow contacted Jonathan and thanked him for realizing their only hope for their little girl. Their unwavering gratitude was extremely moving and inspiring.

my story

Registration is easy.  Participation in the registry required a cheek swab.  Two years later, a representative told me that I was identified as a match for a man in his sixties who was dying of leukemia. I confirmed my commitment to donate and took blood tests at a lab (all sponsored by the organization) for health and additional suitability screening.

Given the go-ahead, I would have to undergo a procedure where my blood would be harvested in a few sessions via an intravenous line, and much like platelet (general blood) donation, the blood would be filtered to process the stem cells which would later be infused in the recipient’s blood. As I mentioned earlier, this is a much easier and less painful procedure than previous donors had to endure.

But a month later Gift for Life found a better genetic match for the sick man and I was told, “Your participation is appreciated, but unnecessary at this time.” I remain active in the registry, and hope to have the opportunity to do the Mitzvah (good deed) of giving bone marrow in the future. It would be an opportunity to do something unselfish and unmotivated by personal gain, to provide a complete stranger with the prospect of recovery from a deadly disease. I view it as my responsibility as a Jew and a member of humanity.

my message to fellow Baruchians

Registering and donating bone marrow is a personal decision. If you choose to do so not only will you have the opportunity to save the life of someone’s son, daughter, mother or father, you have the chance to gift another soul a second chance at life. The Talmud states, “When you save one life it is as if you saved the entire world.”

*The Gift of Life Foundation is an organization established by leukemia survivor and bone marrow donation recipient Jay Feinberg.  Their mission is to educate people about the gift of donation and to increase a patient’s best chance at finding donors by expanding the diversity of the registry.  For more information about Gift of Life or to register as a donor visit http://www.giftoflife.org.

super sandy stories

Every student, faculty and staff member at Baruch undoubtedly has a Sandy story. The devastation the storm wreaked on many of our communities will take years to reverse, and the neighborhoods hugging the shoreline will never be the same. But in tandem with physical damage, came a flood of goodwill from all sectors. Many school organizations and clubs took part in Sandy relief efforts, and we applaud the Ticker for highlighting their feats of kindness. We follow with profiles of a handful of volunteers who shared their experiences with us.

name Jack C. Anteby

major Marketing

graduating 2016

why I want to do good I’m involved with a community-based charity for a long time now and plan on staying involved for a long time to come. I always felt a calling to help people in need.

my sandy story I got involved with Sandy relief as a volunteer for a local community organization. The storm caused so much devastation! After seeing all the suffering on television, I knew it was the least I could do. I met up with a bunch of other Baruch students, and I really enjoyed the experience of all of us working together. We received piles and piles of donated items, and spent many hours sorting them by age group and gender so they could be expediently distributed.

name Olgi Ayal

major Marketing

graduating 2014

why I want to do good I feel lucky for all the advantages I have in my life, and would like to utilize these gifts to help others.

my sandy story When I heard of the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy, I realized how lucky I was to still have a home with heat and power. There were so many others living so close to me without clothing, food, or shelter. Hillel at Baruch, along with many other organizations at school, initiated drives to collect clothing and shoes for those who lost their own. I was thankful for the opportunity to participate. At my local community center, I joined countless others collecting and sorting through clothing donations. The week of the storm we packed a hundred packages of candles, grape juice, and challah for Jewish families who were unable to get much for Shabbat.

name Julian Klus

major Public Affairs

graduating Fall 2013

why I want to do good A recent internship aiding the needy showed me how much change a small group could bring to the larger community.

My dream is to work one day in humanitarian aid. There are many ways we can relieve the millions of people worldwide faced with natural disasters, war, and poverty who struggle daily to survive. A small but mighty force can greatly improve people’s lives on a global scale.

my volunteer experiences My interest in public affairs, specifically my experience working with non-profits, greatly influenced my decision to help with cleanup efforts after Sandy. I worked at the Jacob A. Riis Settlement House in Long Island City, where ten full time staff members provide two hot meals daily for seniors, run after-school programs for kids, and offer services to new immigrants; all of these are common needs of many people in New York City.

my sandy story I received an email a few days after the disaster from Hillel, a Jewish organization on campus, listing many options for volunteering. I joined a team of over 250 New Yorkers. We were dispatched to six locations across Long Island to serve food and water to local families, and provide cleaning supplies for devastated homes. We spent the day outside in the cold, talking with residents of Nassau County and offering encouragement that we would all pull through this disaster together. In the wake of the hurricane and all that transpired, I believe even more strongly that building a supportive community that extends a helping hand to others in need is crucial to a healthy society.

“thank baruch!”

name

Richard Shasho

graduating in

Spring 2012

majoring in

Real Estate Investment

hobbies

Cooking,Reading& Sports

what he likes about Baruch

There are a vast amount of resources that Baruch offers students to help them apply themselves to the real world – in going out there and getting a job. Richie encourages you to do your research and find out all Baruch has to give.

 what he does for others

“When my father passed away three-and-a-half years ago, I decided to make a change for the better in myself to show my appreciation to him. He was a leader in his community whom everyone adored. I felt that I also had to make a difference in peoples’ lives.

“One evening, a stranger came up to me in synagogue and asked me if the construction van parked outside was mine. I said yes. He then asked for my help. I said to myself, ‘Okay, I don’t know who he is but I can give him a hand.’ He took me to one of New York’s notable kosher bakeries to pick up bread and we started to deliver it to distribution centers who help the hungry. When we were done, I was amazed at the feeling of fulfillment that overcame me. ‘What’s your name and cell number?,’ I asked the guy, ‘Let’s do this more often!’ He smiled and complied.

“Ever since that first night three years ago, I’ve been going every week to pick up fresh bread and pastries to put on the tables of needy people. It is something that transformed my life and made me appreciate everything I do. It is a form of ‘pure’ charity in that there is no expectation that the recipient will one day return a favor in kind, but is done for the love of humankind. I do this on my own time without compensation, sometimes in the middle of the night when I’m finally free from schoolwork and my job.

“Whenever the guys at the distribution centers see me, they ask me how I get such fresh bread for free. I smile and say, ‘It’s all the guy who got me into this. You’ve got to thank Baruch.’

“You see, that was the stranger’s name.”

One Love

name Frankie Howell

work Baruch College Cafeteria Staff

age 50 years

hobbies music and songwriting

his message to Baruch

Everyone should strive to be a leader, which means someone who sees the answer before others have yet to recognize the question. It’s your choice, but I hope each of you elects to be productive in this way.

Model your interactions in terms of unity and love. Everyone should love each other as brothers and sisters, no matter to which creed, color or race you belong, because the word is love- one love. I wake up every morning and that’s the first thing I say, “One Love”

his story

It began two months after I started working here. I would sit in the cafeteria having breakfast, and each day the same student sat nearby. An artist, I saw; she drew pictures in her notebook, and she gave off a natural vibe, it gave me a jolt of encouragement each morning to give my job the best I had. One morning, I said to her: See this award I received, “Employee of the Month”? Every morning I’d see you sitting here with that aura of humility that you have. It’s rubbed off on me. I would get up and go to my job creatively, more constructively in every way. This prize? It’s because of you. I’d like to write you a song.

She answered: I play the guitar, I’ll write the soundtrack.

his song (1st stanza)

Why must I drown myself in sorrow/When everyone knows there is a better tomorrow/Hopin’ is on us to make the grade/Why should I worry because I’m not afraid…