Like most grandmothers, my Bubby is very proud of her grandchildren. One act of mine brings her special joy. I founded and run a charitable organization, Food4them, in the Houston area. Through my organization, volunteers and I are given the privilege of donating over 500 lbs. of food per month to food pantries, supported by local corporations. Whenever my grandmother recounts my work to her friends, one can see a certain glimmer in her eyes. Similarly, I have the same glimmer whenever I invite my friends to join me in my organization.

Seventy years ago, my grandmother was doing the same as me, although in very different circumstances. While she was fighting for her own life in a Nazi concentration camps, Auschwitz, she was also risking her life to help others. With a sad smile on her wrinkled face, my Bubby vividly describes her acts of altruism during a time of terror. “I would sneak out of the barracks, go to the garbage, pick out the potato peels, and feed them to the sick,” she says with a thick Eastern European accent. Instead of keeping her token of struggle for herself, she would give it to those who needed it most. This is the most important lesson that she taught me.

Now, living in comparably a paradise, I realized that I had a duty. If my grandmother was able to do such extraordinary deeds in such an gruesome time, then I have not only a responsibility, but an obligation to continue on her legacy of kindness. My Bubby continues to be an inspiration for me to help others and acts as a stimulus for others to do good deeds.
To find out more about Food4them or ways to help, please visit food4them.

Adam and his Bubby

Submitted by Food4them founder, Adam Hoffman, 14 years old.