By Scott Brinton
Growing up in Merrick, the three, all 15, had never seen poverty face to face. Then, by chance, they met a mother and father with young children who recently lost their home, and they wanted to help.
Oprah Winfrey's Pay It Forward Challenge in October inspired the teenagers to give to others. For the challenge, Winfrey offered 300 audience members $1,000 debit cards and asked them to use the money for charitable acts. Each participant sought additional funds to enhance Winfrey's donation. Merokean Felicia Cilibrasi and her parents, Arline and Dr. Bob Kramer, raised $67,000 for the Ronald McDonald House in New Hyde Park - in a week.
The three Merrick teens' mothers - Donna Migdol, who is Bressler's mom, Alison Gelfand and Leslie Levine - created their own Pay It Forward Challenge for their daughters. Before the holidays, they gave each of the teens $50 and challenged them to add to the donation.
The money would go to a family whom Migdol had met through her work as an elementary math supervisor in the Oceanside School District. The mother of the family had recently lost her job as a nurse's aide. The husband was out of work as well. They have four children, ages 6,5, 4 and 2. The two older siblings attended Oceanside schools for a short period this past fall when the family lived in a nearby motel, supported only by government aid.
The children were in the Oceanside schools for two months. Then they were shuffled to a Freeport motel, before social services found them a government-funded apartment in Hempstead. Migdol saw the children's wit and humor, and felt sorrow that they were forced to live an itinerant life in squalid conditions at such a young age.
Julia, Nikki and Sara, all of whom are honors students and play on the varsity soccer team at Kennedy, determined to double the $150 that their mothers had given them and buy presents for the children so they could at least enjoy a decent Christmas. The three did odd jobs for neighbors. They baby-sat extra hours. They gave up Chanukah presents. In a short time, the girls more than tripled the money that their parents had given them, raising $500 in all. Additional donations came from Oceanside teachers. Soon, the three had a sizable sum. Then they went shopping.
The three lifelong friends started by purchasing a portable DVD player, so the children could watch movies and play videogames. They also bought videos and books, stuffed animals and toys, many of which were learning games. Then they spent considerable time wrapping the presents before giving them to the children at their grandmother's one-bedroom Hempstead apartment.
The children were ecstatic. If not for the Merrick teens' act of kindness, the children would have received little to nothing for Christmas.
Julia Bressler said, "It felt really good to give to people. A lot of people around our town don't do this. We never had that experience before. The kids were more happy and excited than we thought they would be. The grandma was so grateful. She was crying."
Migdol said the children immediately got down to playing with their new toys. "There was no fighting," she said. "There was just generosity among the children. They were just so giving with each other."
Sara Levine said, "I felt guilty. I felt like I have more than them. I saw how they were living. I felt like they weren't living a normal life. I felt like they were moving around a lot. Even living in the conditions that they were, they all had a good relationship with each other."
For Nikki Gelfand, presenting the gifts was clearly the best part of the experience. "While I was giving them, I didn't realize how much fun it would be," she said.
Migdol said she is proud that the girls lived up to the challenge with which they were presented. "The time and effort that they put in anticipation of this was hours and hours," she said. "As parents, it was really an incredible thing to watch."
Leslie Levine said, "The children were hugging the girls and playing with them. They kept saying, 'This is the best Christmas ever.'"
Alyssa Maltz, a first-grade Oceanside teacher who lives in Merrick, and her daughter Melanie baked cookies for the children and joined Juila, Sara and Nikki on the night they gave their gifts. Also helping with the effort was Oceanside kindergarten teacher Rhona Kahn.
Comments about this story? SBrinton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 203.
