A couple of weeks ago, my husband received some sad news that his close friend, Howard Lebavitz, passed away. Howie was one of the good guys. He was someone with an upbeat personality, always quick with a smile and a laugh. He was also a good listener — that’s what made him a true natural at his job. Howie was a licensed clinical social worker who worked exclusively with combat veterans who were trying to acclimate back into civilian society.
It wasn’t an easy thing for these former soldiers to do, he used to explain, but lots of times, he felt that the veterans just needed someone to talk to. Veterans Day is Nov. 11, and in memory of Howie, as well as a tribute to those who have served our country, I want to share some things that we can do as a community to recognize, honor and respect our veterans.
On Friday, Nov. 6 at noon, the College of Lake County is proud to host keynote speaker, Bernard Edelman, a 97-year-old World War II veteran and former prisoner of war. Edelman, a Lincolnshire resident, was in the first armored division in the U.S. Army and was captured in Tunisia.
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There will also be a veteran resource fair and welcome home celebration from 11 a.m to 3 p.m. that day. CLC is located at 19351 W. Washington St., Grayslake. For more information, call Rodolfo Ruiz-Velasco at 847-543-2752 or email [email protected].
The Buffalo Grove Park District will host its free Veterans Day celebration on Wednesday, Nov. 11 at the Community Arts Center, 225 McHenry Road, Buffalo Grove. Free refreshments from Culver’s will be given from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. and the program begins at 1:30 p.m. Also, everyone in attendance will receive a Hershey bar, courtesy of Radford Green at Sedgebrook.
Once again, Sport Clips has partnered with the VFW for their national “Help a Hero” fundraising campaign. The company will provide scholarships to veterans at post-secondary and trade schools to help make the transition from military life to the civilian workplace easier. Sport Clips will donate $1 from every hair care service to the program through Veterans Day. So far, they have donated almost $1.2 million in scholarships nationwide. Local stores can be found at www.sportclips.com.
All talented graphic artists have a week left to enter the Chicago Veterans T-Shirt Design Contest. The winner will have their work displayed on a shirt throughout the city, and the shirt must incorporate the words “Chicago veterans” within the design .The website www.chicagovets.org has all of the official rules for this contest, and the deadline for submitting designs is Nov. 11.
The Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago always appreciates volunteers at their facility, as well as both monetary and non-monetary donations. The V.A. hospital also appreciates newspaper subscriptions, videotapes, paperback books and magazines (no older than 3 months), as well as men’s and women’s used clothing that is clean and in good condition. Items can be donated Monday to Friday, and they ask that you call in advance before dropping them off, at 224-610-3714.
Finally, it’s never too early to begin sending holiday cards to soldiers who are far away from home. There is a Facebook page called Operation Christmas Cards with some information. Other websites that I have found include: www.soldiersangels.org, www.operationgratitude.com, Operation Support Our Troops – America at www.osotamerica.org and for Jewish soldiers celebrating Chanukah, the Jewish Chaplains Council will be sending holiday packages to soldiers at www.jcca.org.
That’s all for now. I’m busy collecting some of our local students’ recipes for Thanksgiving for my next column. If you have a favorite homemade holiday dish that doesn’t have to be cooked at 5,000 degrees, and you’d like to share it with readers, please send it to Aileen Simons at [email protected].
Aileen Simons is a freelance columnist for Pioneer Press.