Do a mitzvah and join us on Sunday, December 25th as a volunteer!
We are pleased to bring back the Pinch Hitter Program live after a two-year hiatus because of COVID-19. The Pinch Hitter Program, which is organized by B’nai B’rith and chaired by Harry Lutz, provides volunteers to work in non-medical positions in area hospitals and assisted living places on Christmas Day to give employees the day off to spend with their families. We will work in approximately) four-hour shifts at nine hospitals and assisted living facilities this year.
All volunteers MUST be vaccinated. Wearing masks is highly encouraged.
You can sign up online at www.pinchhitters.org for your choice of hospital and shift. Note: Minimum age in some facilities is 18.
In 2022 we are serving nine hospitals, assisted living facilities, and nursing homes: Berman Commons, Dunwoody Place, Historic Roswell Place, Somerby at Sandy Springs, Solana of East Cobb, Georgian Lakeside, William Breman Jewish Home, the Cohen Home, and the Veterans Administration Medical Center. We are proud to welcome nearly 300 volunteers to serve those nine locations.
Shifts generally run from 7 to 11 (early morning), 11 to 3 (mid-day), or 3 to 7 (afternoon). You will be notified in mid-December by our volunteer coordinator for the facility where you are assigned.
We hope that you will choose to join us on Wednesday, December 25, 2022, and help us provide a mitzvah at one of the hospitals or assisted living facilities listed above!
For additional information, please contact Harry Lutz by phone at (678) 485-8179 or by email at hslutz_fsa@yahoo.com.
A special thank you to our sponsors who have come aboard so far this year: Publix Super Markets Charities; Capital Investment Advisors; Siegel Insurance and Auto-Owners Insurance; Carr, Riggs and Ingram LLP; Kessler and Solomiany LLC; Coldwell Banker-Debbie Sonenshine; Loventhal Insurance Group; Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care; Toco Instant Printing; and Co-Create a Website.
If you can’t volunteer on December 25th, you can still be part of the Pinch Hitter Program by making a donation* to B’nai B’rith. Your contribution will help us continue to do the work we do each and every year. Your donation will help us defray our costs for mailings, supplies, advertising, and shirts for our volunteers. If you have any questions or comments, please contact Harry Lutz, Chairman of the B’nai B’rith Pinch Hitter Program at 678- 485-8179 or hslutz_fsa@yahoo.com for more information.
Visit us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/bnaibrithATL.
* B’nai B’rith is an exempt organization under Sec. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations may be deductible. Consult your tax professional.
About Pinch Hitters:
To Christians, Christmas is one of their most sacred holidays. It is a day of worship, goodwill, and celebration. Businesses close for the day and employees spend the holiday with their loved ones. In hospitals, nursing homes, police stations, and fire stations throughout the country, however, employees must report to work. The business of caring for the sick and injured and responding to victims of unfortunate situations is a daily task, with no regard for a holiday schedule.
While the Jewish community does not celebrate Christmas, many Jews have this holiday off from work. Since 1980, the Pinch Hitter Program has been a wonderful opportunity for Jewish Atlanta to give back to the larger community. The Pinch Hitter Program is our annual community service project where volunteers from the Atlanta Jewish community “go to bat” for non-medical healthcare workers on Christmas Day. In the spirit of the season, B’nai B’rith members and the Jewish community at large will replace Christian workers in hospitals, assisted living facilities, and nursing homes, allowing them to spend the day with their families. Employees from these facilities benefit from this gesture of goodwill.
Pinch Hitters is organized by the Achim/Gate City (Atlanta) Lodge #0144 of B’nai B’rith International and the B’nai B’rith Center for Community Action.
While we have gained some local publicity from local newspapers and television stations, the program has also gained some national attention. The Pinch Hitter Program was awarded the
335th Presidential Point of Light Service Award by President George H.W. Bush in 1990. Additionally, the program was featured in a December 1998 issue of Family Circle magazine.
