December 4, 2008 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Mom, daughter from Mt. Airy team up in ‘Clothes for Cause’
by CONSTANCE GARCIA-BARRIO

Ari Bogom-Shanon and her mother Dorel Shanon, of Mt. Airy, and their other family members believe strongly in civic activism and volunteering on behalf of worthwhile causes.

“I am of the opinion that every life belongs to the whole community,” George Bernard Shaw wrote many years ago, “and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.”

The Bogom-Shanon family of Mt. Airy couldn’t agree more. Dorel, 48, and her daughter Ari, 13, have teamed up to organize “Clothes for a Cause,” a bazaar of gently used clothes whose proceeds will benefit the Women’s Medical Fund.

Slated for this coming Sunday, Dec. 7, the fundraiser grew from the family’s passion for social justice. “Social action matters to us deeply,” said Dorel, a University of Pennsylvania alumna. Dorel works in organizational development with nonprofit groups.  “We’re lucky. We have food, a home. Many people don’t.”

“Clothes for a Cause” is Dorel’s and Ari’s second joint project. “I had my bat mitzvah in May,” said Ari, a student at Germantown Friends School. “For my synagogue, Mishkan Shalom, I had to do a tikkun olam project, or ‘Repair of the World’. I organized a team for ‘Yoga Unites for Living Beyond Breast Cancer.’ I raised over $3000 for LBBC with the help of my family and my friends.”

Dorel, whose organizational development work includes executive coaching, team development and strategic planning, embraced the idea of working with Ari and her friends on this fundraiser.

‘“Clothes for a Cause’ feels more like a partnership between Ari and me,” Dorel said.

Ari got an early introduction to social action. “When I was in the fourth grade, 9 or 10 years old, I went with my mom to the March for Women’s Lives in Washington,” Ari said. “We went by train with friends, and I remember seeing people protesting against the march along the way. I got to see that there are people who think differently from us.  We didn’t actually see Jane Fonda, but it was my first big rally.”

At one point Ari sat down on the curb, but kept holding up a sign she had made herself: “Give women the right to choose. Unless George Bush is free to baby-sit.”

Ari has also volunteered with her father, Stuart Bogom, a computer consultant. “My dad and I used to go to a shelter in Upper Darby where we would serve food once a month,” she said. “I remember the way the families would say ‘Thank you’ and ‘God bless you.’”

Dorel’s long commitment to Women’s Medical Fund sparked “Clothes for a Cause.” “I’ve been on the board of WMF for three years,” Dorel said of the organization, a nonprofit which assists low income women and teens to access safe and legal abortions.

“I wanted to do more work on reproductive rights,” Dorel said. “Inequities in Medicaid funding affect the health care that poor women receive. ‘Clothes for a Cause’ seemed a way to raise money, educate people about the health care crisis and help the environment by recycling clothes.”

Ari jumped aboard and brought friends. “I asked a bunch of them if they wanted to work on the project,” Ari said. “Most said yes, but one friend told me that her family was anti-choice.”

Other mother-daughter teams joined the project. “It made for sometimes difficult, yet fruitful, conversations about reproductive rights,” Dorel said.

“We talked over how much to charge people,” Ari said. “We wanted to keep the sale open to lots of women, so we decided on one price for people 18 and under another for people over that age.”

“The girls helped to distribute the flyer,” Dorel said. “They’re promoting the event and helping to collect and sort the clothes. They’ll have a hand in the set up, welcome and clean up. Everyone’s been incredibly responsible.”

In one of their many conversations about “Clothes for a Cause,” Ari asked her mother a provocative question: “What would you do if you were in a country that forced women to have abortions?” “I responded that I would fight just as hard for a woman’s right to have children,” Dorel said. “The issue isn’t just abortion for me.  It’s about a woman’s right to make her own decision about when and whether she can raise a family.”

The men of the family have also stepped to the fore in social action. Ari’s brother, Eli, 16, also a student at GFS, volunteered at the Upper Darby homeless shelter for several years. “My father helped get funding to have the Allens Lane train station restored,” Ari said. “He received an award from West Mt. Airy Neighbors for his volunteer service.”

Mishkan Shalom Synagogue in Roxborough has also proved a key supporter. “Mishkan Shalom has been generous in its help,” Dorel said. “The synagogue is cooperating in every way, even allowing us to store clothes there.”

“The clothes are fabulous,” Dorel added. “One woman brought all hand-knit clothes that she had made for her pre-teen daughter. There’s evening wear, business outfits, cashmere sweaters and more. We have accessories too.”

“Clothes for a Cause” will take place Sunday, Dec. 7, noon to 4 p.m., at Mishkan Shalom, 4101 Freeland Ave. in Roxborough, just below Ridge Avenue and Shurs Lane.  The entry fee is $35 for adults and $15 for teens. You may take home as many bags of clothing as you like.  For more information, e-mail clothesforacause@gmail.com.