As a successful businessman, Ira Riklis has no end of demands on his time. Still, you can find him on many a Friday morning between 5: and 8:15 a.m. serving hot breakfasts and sack lunches to the homeless at the Central Synagogue Caring Committee. He’s been doing so for more than twelve years now and considers it an important commitment to helping others who are trying hard to help themselves.
The group has chosen those early hours on Thursdays and Fridays specifically to help those who have work, but still don’t have homes, and those who get up early to spend their day searching for employment. As nutritionists will tell you, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Getting a good breakfast and lunch gives these people the boost they need to get started and keep going with the edge they need to do their best. The group makes the most of their resources, volunteers like Ira Riklis do almost all the work, so that almost all the money they raise goes directly to feed the homeless.