The Vaad Hatzedaka of Far Rockaway and the Five Towns has upgraded their services to a new computerized system that is intended to streamline the certification process for individuals and organizations collecting charity.
Using a system created by the Vaad Tomchei Shabbos of Lakewood, a new database has been created which contains close to 3,000 names of institutions and individuals worldwide who have been approved and issued a certificate rendering them as valid collectors of tzedaka.
“Until now, we have been interviewing collectors and verifying information manually, and every community has been doing their own checking,” said Rabbi Avrohom Liss of Lawrence, the newly appointed administrator of the Vaad Hatzedaka. “Before, there was no interaction between the communities, and there was a lot of duplication of research, work and effport. This is a wonderful idea that will streamline the entire process.”
If a collector has been to one community and has already been checked out and issued a certificate there, the Vaad of another community can find out by simply looking the person up in the database, which contains passport information, pictures and other identifying details, as well as a comments section. If it is a person’s first time collecting, they will be entered into the database by the Vaad of that community after they are approved, so that their name will be in the system forever, enabling other Vaads in other communities to check their credentials when the time comes.
Rabbi Liss, who has taken over the helm of the Vaad following the 17-year tenure of Rabbi Hersch Leib Gefen, explained that access to the database is strictly controlled, and it is only open to Vaad administrators, to ensure complete confidentiality.
In keeping the with the Vaad’s long-standing tradition, certificates issued to collectors will retain bright yellow appearance and will have a security holograph bearing the Vaad’s logo, in addition to a color picture of the collector.
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2 Responses
Tovoh Aleyhem B’racha
This is truly a wonderful and important undertaking that hopefully will be “hooked into” by other communities and perhaps modelled upon by others. The era of “kol haposhet yad” is over because we are no longer dealing with “aniye e’richa” who we know. The difficult economic circumstances have created a need for mosdos as well as individuals in dire need. We as “rachmonim benei rachmonim” are pleased to help as long as we are dealing with ‘erlicher’ aniyim. In my shul there have been appeals every day for individuals in especially difficult situations. BUT there are the chalatans, the drug addicts collecting at chasonos and the ‘push in robbers’ or worse who have taken advantage of naive women at home. The system will hopefully help resolve these problems and enable us to give with confidence.
Information about Tzadakas and Collectors should be readally available to the general public. A certificate is not enought. A database of only the Tzadakas and Collectors should be accessable to anyone on the internet.