The Friendship Circle is national project that helps families with children with special needs. The group has five branches in the U.S., Canada, Australia, France and China comprising 4,000 beneficiaries and their families, and more than 8,000 volunteers. The charity is seeking to open 100 worldwide by the end of this year.
Shemtov's Friendship Circle is an initiative of the worldwide Chabad Jewish outreach movement.
Shabbat observance is particularly important in the Shemtov family. Shemtov's grandfather was jailed to Siberia in communist Russia for spreading the observance of the Sabbath under Stalin's rule.
"I encourage all to vote earlier in the day today and then celebrate Shabbat," Shemtov said.
Today's contest is sponsored by JP Morgan Chase Bank.
The Friendship Circle came in fourth place in the first stage of the contest earlier this week. The winner of the second stage of the contest, which began today, will earn $1 million, while those in the top five will receive $100,000.
Click Here to vote
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FC willing to forgo $1 million for Sabbos
The Friendship Circle is on the road to possibly winning a $1 million donation in a Facebook contest today. The only caveat is that the most important voting hours of the competition are set to take place after the start of Shabbos, tonight. Rabbi Levi Shemtov, national coordinator for the Friendship Circle, has publicly requested that Jewish participants not vote after sundown due to Orthodox Jewish restrictions on using electronic devices on the Shabbat. "We are prepared to lose 1 million dollars, but not to mar the celebration of our divinely given day of rest with the mundane electronic process of voting," Shemtov said.
Chabad.info
7 Shvat 5770 (22.01.2010)
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