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Chaverim provides free car repairs
Lawrence residents Irit Whittmann and her husband, Joseph, were helped on three separate occasions in the past two years by Chaverim volunteers — after Irit locked her keys in her car, when she had a flat tire in her driveway and when the battery in Joseph’s car died.
“It gives you hope in humankind and that God will send people to help you,” Irit said. She noted the speedy response and friendly volunteers. “You could be anywhere — in your driveway, stuck in the middle of a street somewhere or in a parking lot — and here they are to help you.”
Chaverim, an all-volunteer organization based in Lawrence, responds to motorists with problems ranging from engine trouble to an empty gas tank. With roughly 80 members serving the Five Towns and Far Rockaway, the group promises an average response time of five minutes when called. All services are free.
About 30 volunteer dispatchers answer between 250 and 300 phone calls per month, 24 hours a day six days a week. Chaverim — Hebrew for friends — does not operate on Saturdays, which is Shabbos.
The organization is funded entirely by community donations. After every call, people who receive assistance have an opportunity to donate and can do so by giving cash, mailing a check or using the group’s website. It costs about $500 to equip a member’s car to help people in need. The average total annual operating cost is $20,000, according to Chaverim officials.
The members who volunteer are able to pick up essential skills, such as changing a tire, by watching others, Binyamin Lipsky, a coordinator for the organization, said. A vast majority of the calls are for battery boosts and flat tires, he added.
Far Rockaway resident Yakov Okshtein, the busiest dispatcher, boasts of having answered 1,209 calls since he joined Chaverim in March 2015. Although he works full-time in the city as a computer programmer, he volunteers whenever he can in the morning, at night and on weekends.
Okshtein recalled an experience with someone he helped last week. He said that as he was leaving after jump-starting a car, he told the drive to have an amazing day, to which the driver responded, “You just made it a whole lot better.” “That’s what it’s all about,” Okshtein added.
A group of community activists established Chaverim in Far Rockaway and the Five Towns in 2005 after recognizing a need to assist people with car-related issues, with the goal of minimizing inconvenience. The organization’s board of directors currently includes Mayer Kramer, Moshe Hamel and Lipsky.
Lipsky first got involved 11 years ago, when he saw a flier requesting local volunteers to help out. “If nothing else, I should learn how to change a flat tire,” he said, recalling how his initial interest eventually led him to becoming a coordinator.
“Friends take care of friends,” he said of the organization’s name. Lipsky highlighted its goal of making sure community members receive the help they need when they have car trouble.
Eight years ago, Chaverim began a tradition of hosting an annual member appreciation dinner to thank its volunteers for their time and service. Awards are given out, such as the Most Active Member and Member of the Year. This year’s dinner was held at Traditions in Lawrence on Dec. 20, and David Yovits won the Member of the Year award.
To get involved and/or register for a defensive driving course, visit chaverim5t.org.
