HE'S REMEMBERED FOR FEEDING HAVE-NOTS.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
It was just like Dave Kaye not to want to talk about himself. Even at the end. For more than 25 years, this remarkable man who died last week at 90 ran a free, full-service supermarket out of a Northridge warehouse -- collecting food from the haves to feed the have-nots. His motto was his life: "Don't throw it away -- call Dave Kaye." And people called. Thousands of them. Dozens of vans and trucks from local nonprofit organizations Nonprofit Organization An association that is given tax-free status. Donations to a non-profit organization are often tax deductible as well. Notes: Examples of non-profit organizations are charities, hospitals and schools. , churches and schools in poorer areas of the Valley would back up to Dave's free supermarket dock a couple of days a week and load up with food and supplies. Gina Mirabella, food bank director for MEND -- Meet Each Need with Dignity -- was one of them for over 20 years. Like so many who attended Dave's memorial service Monday, she couldn't believe he was gone. "We had a long conversation just a few weeks ago and he never mentioned he was sick," she said. "He was just worried about how he was going to get the next truckload truck·load n. The quantity that a truck can hold. truckload n → camión m lleno of food to families who needed it. "The only comment he made about slowing down was that he couldn't do the tango anymore. That was Dave. Everybody else came first." People called him the magician for his ability to fill that free supermarket of his with donated food and supplies. He wasn't a magician, Dave said. He was just a guy who spent 45 years in the frozen-food business and knew how to put the gentle arm on somebody for charity -- always with a smile on his face. It all started more than 30 years ago with his Encino B'nai B'rith B'nai B'rith (bənā` brĭth) [Heb.,= Sons of the Covenant], oldest and largest Jewish service organization in the world, founded (1843) in New York by American Jews "to provide service to their own people and to humanity at large. lodge delivering Passover baskets to needy Jewish families. Why just Jewish families, Dave wondered? Hunger didn't play favorites. It crossed all ethnic and religious boundaries. Even when he lost his supermarket warehouse a few years back and couldn't find enough space in the Valley that he could afford to lease, he filled his food orders with his wife, Sylvia, from a spare bedroom in their house. "He'd get a call that somebody had a truckload of something to give him, and Dave would be on the phone making sure it got to a school or church that needed it," said longtime long·time adj. Having existed or persisted for a long time: a longtime friend; a longtime resident of Detroit. longtime Adjective volunteer and friend Jim Botz. "Thousands of kids went to school with full stomachs because of Dave." It might seem trite to say that someone will be missed, but not in this case. Dave Kaye has left a big hole in the heart of the Valley with his passing. And he'd be the last one to admit it. Lauren Beeder, a 16-year-old junior at Newbury Park High School, has been named one of the most caring young adults in America by the Caring Institute in Washington, D.C. "It is a great honor for us to pay tribute to these extraordinary young people who have used their lives for the betterment bet·ter·ment n. 1. An improvement over what has been the case: financial betterment. 2. Law An improvement beyond normal upkeep and repair that adds to the value of real property. of others," said former U.S. Sen. Robert Dole, chairman of the board of trustees board of trustees Politics The posse of thugs who oversee an institution's administration. See Board of directors. for the institute inspired by the work of Mother Teresa. Lauren is one of five young people from around the country who will travel to the nation's capital next month to be honored at the Frederick Douglass Museum & Hall of Fame for Caring Americans on Capitol Hill. "It's just such an honor to receive an award like this, I'm still a little awed by it," Lauren said Thursday. She received the award for her volunteer work with pediatric pediatric /pe·di·at·ric/ (pe?de-at´rik) pertaining to the health of children. pe·di·at·ric adj. Of or relating to pediatrics. cancer patients at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . She also founded a nonprofit organization -- kidsCANCERvive -- that has raised more than $35,000 for the children's hospital A children's hospital is a hospital which offers its services exclusively to children. The number of children's hospitals proliferated in the 20th century, as pediatric medical and surgical specialties separated from internal medicine and adult surgical specialties. . Congratulations, Lauren. You deserve it. And finally, with Veterans Day coming up next month, a couple of local groups are putting out the call to invite all veterans to attend a thank-you recognition ceremony in Canoga Park. It's being sponsored by local Boy Scout troops and a group that calls itself "Wings Over Wendys," comprised of retired service pilots who meet regularly at the restaurant. The event is free and open to the public. It is being held at 7 p.m., Nov. 9, at The Church of Jesus Christ Church of Jesus Christ may refer to:
n. See Mormon. Noun 1. Latter-Day Saint - a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Mormon , 7045 Farralone Ave., Canoga Park. For more information, call (818) 887-0577. dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3749 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: In this 1997 photo, Dave Kaye poses with a sign from children at Emelita Street School thanking him for food supplies given to the school. Tina Burch/Staff Photographer |
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