Printer Friendly
The Free Library
14,506,614 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

VALLEY'S WILLIE WONKA GIVES BACK.


Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
  • Dennis McCarthy (composer), (born 1945), an American composer
  • Dennis McCarthy (congressman), (19th century) Lieutenant Governor of New York in 1885
  • Dennis McCarthy MBE (radio presenter), British radio presenter
 

They would meet clandestinely a couple of times a week, in gas stations throughout the Valley, during the mid-1980s - and Gloria and Mel Sheftel would put $10 worth of gas in Frank's car, never any money in his hand.

After that, they'd take their 24-year-old son, who was living in that car, to a restaurant to feed him - never handing him the money to buy his own dinner.

``The money would have gone elsewhere, we knew that,'' Gloria says. ``It would have gone for drugs.''

It's a tough thing for a mother to say, but Gloria says it candidly can·did  
adj.
1. Free from prejudice; impartial.

2. Characterized by openness and sincerity of expression; unreservedly straightforward: In private, I gave them my candid opinion.
 and honestly because she and her husband know they are lucky people today.

Their son turned it around. Today, he runs a successful North Hollywood business on Magnolia Magnolia, city, United States
Magnolia (măgnō`lyə), city (1990 pop. 11,151), seat of Columbia co., SW Ark.; inc. 1855. Its oil industry has been important since 1938.
 Boulevard called the Candy Factory, which makes custom candies and hosts birthday parties for kids.

How 40-year-old Frank Sheftel went from being a homeless man living out of his car in the '80s to the Willie Wonka of the Valley is one of those great stories that offers hope to a parents who may be facing the same thing the Sheftels faced 16 years ago - a lot of heartbreak and anxiety.

``I had many visions going through my brain of how things were going to turn out for my son,'' Gloria said Monday. ``None of them was that he would be OK.

``We owe the Chabad people so much. They did a mitzvah (good deed) not only for Frank but for us.''

< He had been living on the streets one step ahead of the cops, hanging out with the wrong people in the wrong crowd, Frank says.

``You know how they say you have to be sick and tired of being sick and tired before you'll change?'' he asks. ``That was me.''

A family friend told him about a nondenominational non·de·nom·i·na·tion·al  
adj.
Not restricted to or associated with a religious denomination.

Adj. 1. nondenominational - not restricted to a particular religious denomination; "a nondenominational church"
, transitional living Transitional Living for Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation
Transitional living is a restructuring of an old concept. The early centers for living were known as Halfway or Three-Quarter houses and usually were in existence for the provision of shelter for people who were
 and drug rehabilitation This article is about the process of rehabilitation for substance dependency. For other uses, see Rehab (disambiguation). For other kinds of rehabilitation, see Rehabilitation. For the American rap-rock group, see Rehab (band).  program for homeless men run by the Hasidic Jewish organization Chabad.

Frank walked in its front door one day and met Sue Oppenheimer, the program's director.

``He had hit bottom and was ready,'' said Oppenheimer, an Encino psychotherapist psy·cho·ther·a·pist
n.
An individual, such as a psychiatrist, psychologist, psychiatric nurse, or psychiatric social worker, who practices psychotherapy.
 in private practice today.

``Our main purpose was to help guys who had fallen through the cracks,'' she said. ``We worked out of an old frat house, and I can honestly say it was the best residential therapy program I was ever part of.''

Six months later, Frank was clean and working part time in a candy shop in Westwood. A few months later, he had an apartment in the Valley and was reuniting with his grateful and relieved parents who didn't have to meet him clandestinely in gas stations anymore.

``They were my biggest supporters and helped me buy this business and become a real-life Willie Wonka,'' Frank said Monday while preparing for a TV telethon tel·e·thon  
n.
A lengthy television program to raise funds for a charity.



[tele- + (mara)thon.
 this weekend to raise funds for Chabad's educational programs for children, senior citizens, drug addicts and the homeless.

Most people wouldn't air their dirty laundry dirty laundry
n. Informal
Personal affairs that could cause embarrassment or distress if made public: Let's not air our dirty laundry in front of our guests. Also called dirty linen.
 in public like this, Frank says, but the way the Sheftels see it, he would be dead right now if not for Chabad.

``Frank is one of our great success stories - and supporters,'' said Rabbi rabbi [Heb.,=my master; my teacher], the title of a Jewish spiritual leader. The role of the rabbi has undergone a number of transformations. In the Talmudic period, rabbis were primarily teachers and interpreters of the Torah.  Boruch Shlomo Cunin Rabbi Shlomo Cunin is the director of Chabad-Lubavitch CA activities on the West Coast of the United States. He was sent as a Shliach in 1965, and together with Rabbi Menachem Shmuel David Raichik, he built a network of Chabad Houses throughout California and Nevada. , director of Chabad's headquarters on the West Coast. ``There are so many men who have turned their lives around in our programs.

``Last week, I was at an event and a young fellow came over to me with a beautiful baby in his arms. He told me the baby was in this world only because of us, that we had given him his life back seven years ago when he went through our program.

``He had met a young lady who was one of our telephone operators at the telethon, married her and now they have two beautiful kids,'' Cunin said.

The Chabad telethon will air on Sunday from 5 p.m. to midnight on KCOP-TV (Channel 13).

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Candy Factory owner Frank Sheftel, who credits a Hasidic Jewish organization for 10 years ago turning his life around, helps raise funds for Chabad's programs.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer
COPYRIGHT 2001 Daily News
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2001, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Publication:Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)
Date:Aug 21, 2001
Words:684
Previous Article:WIFE KILLER GIVEN LIFE PRISON TERM.(News)
Next Article:2002 T-BIRD AUCTION TO BENEFIT CHARITIES.(News)



Related Articles
Film fest furnishes family fun.(Entertainment)(Recreation: Families pack McDonald Theatre for music and laughter.)
MALL LOT RE-CREATED AS DRIVE-IN.(News)
SKATE PARK OPENS IN SIMI; MUSEUM OFFERS HISTORY WITH RAMPS.(NEWS)
CAVEAT COLLECTOR; NEWCOMERS TOLD TO BE CAREFUL IN MEMENTO MARKET.(BUSINESS)(Statistical Data Included)
DRAMA AT CAMP PROGRAM TEACHES ACTING, DANCING.(News)
JC FOOTBALL ROUNDUP: RECORD NIGHT FOR WRIGHT.(Sports)
JC/SMALL SCHOOL PREVIEW: GLENDALE FACES BIG TEST.(Sports)
STRANGE GOINGS-ON `CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY' CHURN OUT PLENTY OF TIM BURTON-STYLE QUIRKINESS.(U)
Julie and Romeo Get Lucky.(Brief Article)(Young Adult Review)(Audiobook Review)
OOMPA-LOOMPAS WITH A TWIST WONKA FACTORY GETS SPECIAL REWRITE.(News)

Terms of use | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles