Great Neck Sisters Found Charity to Provide People in Need with Essentials

Rebecca and Danielle Apfelbaum, two middle school students from Great Neck, launched Givers of the World this fall in order to provide New York City’s homeless population with care baskets full of essentials like toothbrushes, toothpaste, socks, water bottles, and snacks. The girls have coordinated a team of Long Island volunteers to make baskets and then deliver them to people in the city, and say they have learned so much from the experience of physically giving out the baskets. They started going into the city on Sundays to deliver the essentials, giving out baskets throughout Penn Station and Midtown.

“It’s different than bringing a donation to a school drive,” said the girls’ mother, Regine Basha. She noted that the girls are able to see their work making a difference, and believes this direct community involvement benefits her daughters in several ways. As Givers of the World grows, Rebecca and Danielle plan to partner with Long Island schools to get more kids involved and create field trips in order to hand-deliver baskets, and start a Sundays Are for Givers program where families can get together to help others in need. Givers of the World also delivers baskets to homeless shelters, whose supplies are often stretched thin.

"I believe that it teaches you to open your heart," Danielle said. "Because when you do something kind for someone else you can feel that it has a positive impact not just on them but also on you."