Ever locked yourself out of your car or house and wonder what to do next? Luckily for us, our community has Chaveirim which literally means friends in Hebrew. Chaveirim exists as an organization of dedicated volunteers who are there for a fellow Jew in need. They get calls daily for emergency and nonemergency situations. Everyday mishaps that have the potential to ruin your day can be solved easily with a call to these selfless volunteers who come immediately to your aid at a moment's notice.

Chaveirim volunteers helping a man in need with a flat tire.

Chaveirim was established by Aron Yitzchak Kohn from the Boro Park area of Brooklyn, NY. Kohn was inspired by the goodwill efforts of others after the tragedy that took place on Sept. 11, 2001. When several major terrorist attacks took place in the US, the largest one took place in New York City which hit close to home for Kohn.

Chaveirim started with a modest amount of volunteers in a single area, but is now a large network of over 300 volunteers within multiple cities who have responded to hundreds of thousands of calls.

A Chaveirim volunteer assisting with car troubles.

“One day, I let my niece take my  car and my two year old daughter to Dunkin’ Donuts. I later got a call from a strange number. It was my niece, she said she put her keys and cellphone in the front seat, put Jenny in the car seat, and when she went to open the driver's door again it was locked,” recalled Teri Nigri of her experience with Chaveirim.

“She was completely locked out with my baby inside. I knew it was an emergency situation so I quickly called Chaveirim,” explained Nirgi, “They were there within minutes and they got the car door open in seconds without any damage to my car. I was so relieved and grateful. It’s a really important service!”

Chaveirim volunteers assisting with getting into a locked home.

Chaveirim assists people professionally and efficiently in a variety of situations such as house lockouts, vehicle lockouts, battery jumpstarts, flat tires, out of gas, and other everyday mishaps. They have a sophisticated dispatch system manned with a live dispatcher 24 hours a day. Each volunteer is screened and receives extensive hands-on training that features live presentations.

Once cleared for duty, each volunteer is given hundreds of dollars worth of specialized equipment in order to be prepared to handle whatever might get thrown their way. Volunteers of Chaveirim don’t take their jobs lightly.

A child looking on as a Chaveirim volunteer helps fix their car.

“I truly felt the responsibility to help those in times of need,” said Morris C, a former Chaveirim member and volunteer, “The look of relief and smiles of those who were stranded that we got to help is what kept us going as a team.”

Day or night, rain or shine, Chaveirim are truly “friends you can count on” who are around to lend a hand. The Tri-State area branch services North and South Brooklyn, Manhattan, as well as the Catskills in Summer months. They also have a New Jersey branch located in the greater shore area. On top of that, there are other Chaveirim networks that exist throughout the country.

To contact Chaveirim’s dispatch line, call 718-431-8181. To donate and learn more about them, check out their website.

Frieda Schweky

Frieda@sephardic.org

Frieda Schweky is Sephardic.Org's official community events reporter. For inquiries and to get involved with our site, please contact Frieda via email.