Two years. I have been writing about Andrew, about our loss, and about how we are dealing with it for over two years now. Some of what i have written has been in the form of introducing you to Andrew. Other writings are about what bereaved parents feel and go through on a daily basis. Other writings are about how we interact with others, and how you can help us to heal. I have never asked for anything other than your compassion and your willingness to read and learn. But this one is different. After seventy-five posts, I finally have something to ask of you.
My religion, my temple, my Rabbi, have all been a strong part of my healing in the last year or so. Religion is a stronghold for many other as well. Many people find their faith to be the cornerstone of their morals, or their lives, of how they treat others. Some people don’t follow religion at all, or maybe not consciously, but morally. But for us, it has always been a part of our family.
And every time we are in temple, we open our prayer books to the page the Rabbi announces and we follow along, we sing the prayers, we red in unison. As does everyone else. Then, at some point during the service, as does everyone (admit it, we all do), we turn to the inside cover of the book and look at the label posted there. These individual stickers show the person or family that sponsored the book. They show who the sponsor is honoring, memorializing, or thanking by sponsoring that individual book. The label is read by hundreds of people over the lifetime of that prayer book. The love that the sponsor had for their mother, their father, their spouse, or their child’s Bar Mitzvah, is forever memorialized in just that small indicia.
This is where I come in, with your help. Our temple, the Jewish Community Center of Harrison, has just purchased 400 new prayer books. They are new and unsponsored at this point in time. There is no dedication of love, no memorializing of a parent, no honoring of anyone in them. i would like to change that.
How wonderful would it be for people to open up the book and glance inside the front cover and read this:
In Memory of Andrew J. Grosser
www.NeverForgetAndrew.com
And not just one person. But one person every single week of every single month of every single year for the next ten or fifteen years. For them to think that someone thought enough about Andrew Grosser, someone loved him enough, someone cared enough to sponsor this particular book. Then to look at the next book, and the book after that and see the same love from book to book.
I might not be able to raise enough money through you – my friends, my family, my readers, Andrew’s friends, teammates, coaches, and teachers – to sponsor all 400, so I am starting with a modest 100. Hopefully this first set of 100 will sell out in a few days, or a week, or a couple of weeks. Then we can see if we can sponsor more. Maybe the first 100, with any luck and tremendous support, will sell out in a day or two. Then I can add another 100 after that.
The cost of each book is $38 ($36 for the book plus the crowd funding fee) If you can sponsor one of the books, I would be forever grateful. If you can sponsor two or three, I would be thrilled. Whatever you would like to do would be greatly appreciated in this effort to memorialize Andrew in this meaningful effort.
Think of how proud and honored Dorothy, Nicole and I would be to go to temple Friday night and look inside our books and see our beloved Andrew’s name there.
Thank you for your help. Thank you for your love. And thank you for your support.
We are using a crowdfunding site called www.YouCaring.com for this – the direct link is below. They accept credit cards to make a secure payment on-line. Or if you would like, you can contact me and send us a check directly if that makes you feel more comfortable.
https://www.youcaring.com/prayer-books-at-the-jewish-community-center-of-harriso-555587
Again, thank you