By Adam Kredo

'Great to give out money' Mitzvah Heroes Fund carries on where Ziv Tzedakah Fund left off

11/19/2008

When Bill Begal stepped off of the airplane at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport in April, he held a cooler filled with bone marrow in one hand and wad of cash in the other.

This wasn't your typical vacation: Begal was there to help.

"The first thing I did after I landed was deliver this bone marrow to a hospital and saved a life," recalled Begal, 39. "Then I gave out $5,000 in only 36 hours -- I did more in this time than most do in two weeks."

For Begal, this was not a random act of kindness. As one of the three founding members of the Mitzvah Heroes Fund, a nonprofit charity group based in Rockville, days like this come often.

"We don't talk the talk, we really walk the walk; it's great to give out money," said Begal, who owns Begal Enterprises, a fire- and water-damage restoration company in Rockville. On that particular trip in April, his donations provided Passover meals for poor Israeli families.

Established earlier this year in response to the closing of the Ziv Tzedakah Fund, a charity founded by poet and writer Danny Siegel in 1974, the Mitzvah Heroes will pick up where Ziv left off. Founded by longtime friends and Rockville residents Begal, Steve Kerbel and Mary Meyerson, Mitzvah Heroes will contribute to individuals and organizations fighting to make a difference, both locally and abroad.

"This isn't a decision we made last March," Begal explained. "This is something we've been involved in for a long time."

All three co-founders have worked with Siegal professionally and personally over the years. They say the Ziv Fund's closing provided an opportunity to open a new chapter in local philanthropy, and they seem proud to fill Siegel's oversized shoes.

"I've done [Danny's] laundry and washed his dishes," said Kerbel, 47, director of education at Congregation B'nai Tzedek in Potomac. He met Siegel more than a decade ago, teaching classes for him on a United Synagogue Youth trip to Israel.

"I'm pleased with the mixture of factors that they're bringing to this," Siegel said of the group. He noted that while nobody can take over for Ziv, the three founders bring a great business sense to philanthropy. "Nobody has ever accused Danny Siegel of being a businessman," he said, poking fun at himself, while praising Begal's knack for organizational planning.

Begal met Siegel in the 1970s and has lived next door to him for the past nine years.

The trio asks Siegel's fundamental question when seeking out recipients: "Who's doing good?" And the name -- Mitzvah Heroes -- comes from a term that Siegel coined to refer to his member charities.

In fact, in Ziv's final allocation report, the Mitzvah Heroes is listed as one of five charities that donors should consider giving to in light of the fund's closure. While none of the five is referred to as Ziv's "successor," each demonstrated a "dedication to Ziv's vision," according to the final report.

Though the fund is nowhere near Ziv in terms of cash flow, Meyerson, 55, the fund's bookkeeper and an education consultant (Morah Mary Consulting), said it recently surpassed $30,000 in donations, something Kerbel called "pretty surprising for a nine-month operation."

Tapping community connections and longtime friends, the fund solicits general donations and specific allocations. So far, it's received 120 donations, eight of them between $1,800 and $2,900. Most people, however, contribute around $140, according to Meyerson, with some donors giving as little as $18.

"It's slow and steady," Begal said of the group's cash flow. "There's no such thing as a small mitzvah. We can make $18 go unbelievably far. For $18, we can buy kids lunch!"

Funds are doled out rather quickly, according to Meyerson, who will be traveling to Israel next month for a third round of disbursements to various charities, such as HAMA (Humans and Animals in Mutual Assistance), an organization that provides therapy using animals, and the Diplomat immigrant absorption center for elderly Russians. Meyerson will also arrive armed with a supply of winter coats to be donated to needy families.

In terms of contributions, Begal explained that many donations come from area shuls and day schools, though he declined to say which ones. "We get to use the Mitzvah Heroes Fund as a shield to protect," Begal said, pointing out that givers remain anonymous to highlight the deed over the contribution.

Running a full-time charity, though, can be complicated. Thus, the group turned to Arnie Draiman, Begal's uncle who lives in Jerusalem and served as Ziv's Israel agent for 12 years. Draiman has a similar role for the Mitzvah Heroes Fund, maintaining contact with all of the fund's charities and programs in Israel, many of which have carried over from Ziv.

With Draiman's help, Kerbel was able to donate about $7,000 during the group's second official visit to Israel over the summer.

But disbursements do not wind up solely in the Jewish state; there is a large effort to help individuals and charities in the U.S., as well. During Rosh Hashanah, the fund helped provide meals for Holocaust survivors in New York City by giving them $100 gift cards to local food stores and recently donated $500 to a member of a local synagogue who was struggling to pay rent.

"There's a direct connection with people," Meyerson said. "It's all about people; that's the point of Mitzvah Heroes.".