BUBA is Hebrew for DOLL. Project #BeanieBabyBubas Phil Bloom (aka Rami Salami, King of the Balloon Twisters) of Boston I began my career as a clown in 1988 performing in hospitals, army bases and absorption centers throughout Israel. During the Gulf War in 1991, I became the clown I am today. As Rami Salami, I have had an amazing career performing in Japan, Spain, Argentina and over 30 countries, always returning to Israel in times of need to boost the spirits of our people. Since arriving in Israel shortly after the most recent round of fighting, I have presented over 20 shows in schools across the south, in Sderot, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Beer Tuvia, Maagalim, Netivot and Beit Hagdi. More shows are being scheduled on a day to day basis. I am volunteering my services to bring laughter and fun to kids who have lived with sirens, rockets and shelters their entire lives. I came to Israel this time with a stash of 80 stuffed animal toys known as Beanie Babies, which were collected by girls and boys in the United States in the 1990s. The daughter of a friend of mine, now grown up, brought me her large collection of Beanie Babies and I have been distributing them to children in the south over the last few weeks. After each show I ask the teachers which child has been most traumatized, and without hesitation they know. I talk to these kids about the war and try to assure them that they are not alone: There are good people around the world who care about them. I ask them to choose a Beanie Baby and tell them that whenever they are scared to hold their BBs tight and remember todays laughter. Last week I happened upon a group of 30 kids where I was having dinner after a show for over 400 kids. I thought it was a birthday party. It turned out that they were from the Ashkelon Regional Home for Orphans and wards of the State. I went to my car and returned with BBs for them all. That is when the idea hit me. There are many young Jews in the United States who have collected Beanie Babies over the years and no longer need them. I am currently working on a campaign to have people send me these cuddly toys, now tucked away in dusty attics, for redistribution to Israeli children who have lived through endless trauma in their young lives. When they began collecting these toys, the American kids hoped their collections would be valuable some day. Now they are! We are now calling on young people to donate their Beanie Babies to Israeli children, who need the warmth and comfort they provide. The hashtag for the campaign is #BEANIEBABYBUBAS. Please send them to: PHIL @Talansky, 7 Uziah Street, German Colony, Jerusalem, Israel 93143 PHIL @Caftori-Hodes 20 Jabotinsky Street #5 Tel Aviv, Israel 62288 We are asking that collections be sent in small packages marked as used toys/gifts with a declared value of less than $75.
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 13:18:43 +0000
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