South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
‘Creatively connected’ women help those affected by COVID
Two Jewish women from Boynton Beach are helping to support people affected by the coronavirus pandemic in an artistic way.
With the Peacock Project, Randi Senderowitz and Deirdre Kline have a two-fold mission: to raise funds for two local charities significantly affected by the crisis and to create a platform which allows donors to honor friends and encourage them to pay their kindness and generosity forward. The two charities they selected are Next Generations’ Nancy Dershaw Grant for Holocaust Survivors in Need and Cleveland Clinic Florida’s First Responder Hardship Program.
“We are thankful and fortunate that COVID has only affected us as an inconvenience in comparison to other people who have had financial setbacks,” Senderowitz, a snow bird who also lives part time in Pennsylvania, said. “We wanted to help in some way and do it in a unique way. Both Deirdre and myself have artistic backgrounds, and we call ourselves creatively connected.”
Senderowitz continued, “Artistically and creatively is what our friendship is based on, so we put our heads together and came up with a platform for this project.”
“We thought that instead of just collecting money, we wanted to make this more creative, and then the idea of peacock feathers came up.”
For each minimum donation of $10 for the project, the donor receives a peacock feather delivered to his or her doorstep with a card detailing the project’s pay it forward mission. For each additional $10 donation, a feather is hand delivered to anyone designated by the donor within the Hunters Run Country Club in Boynton Beach, where the two women reside. Attached to the peacock feather is a card with a customized message from the donor. Feather bouquets are also available with a minimum donation of $50 or more.
“We thought that was a great symbol in terms of being colorful,” Senderowitz said. “Peacocks and their feathers have a rich history in a lot of cultures as far as what they mean to some cultures, both directly and indirectly. There’s also the simplicity of nature.”
The women wanted to help first responders who have been working to keep people safe, which is why one of the two charities was the First Responder Hardship Program. They also wanted to help out Holocaust survivors who might be alone and in need of support, which is why the other charity is the Nancy Dershaw Grant for Holocaust Survivors in Need.
Senderowitz said it was very meaningful to help out Holocaust survivors because of their heritage.
“Both Deirdre and I are Jewish. Although neither of us have any direct connection to Holocaust survivors, we feel it’s important to keep those memories alive and to really give to the people who have suffered so much in the name of religion.”
Randi C. Posner, chair of educational outreach/ programming for Next Generations, which is based in Boynton Beach, praised the duo for their efforts in helping the organization’s charity.
Contact Senderowitz at 484-225-1041 or randisender@gmail.com, or Kline at 631-707-0255 or deirdre@cattcreative.com for more information or to contribute to this project or arrange a delivery, or visit the Peacock Project’s Facebook group.