Forest Hills Resident Is ‘Champion In The Community’

Champion Mortgage and the New York Mets honored Raphael Spiro of Forest Hills prior to the May 23rd game against the Philadelphia Phillies.
As the first “Champions in the Community” 2006 recipient, Raphael is the founder of a student-run group of volunteers who collect, sort and deliver books to needy members of the community. As part of his recognition, Champion Mortgage will make a $2,500 donation in Spiro’s honor to the charity of his choice.
“Champions in the Community,” a relationship between Champion Mortgage and the New York Mets will honor a person or persons during the 2006 baseball season who exemplify extraordinary community service and change people’s lives. Each month of the season, Champion Mortgage will honor a “champion” during a pre-game presentation on the field. Champion will make a charitable donation of $2,500 to the charity of the recipient’s choice.
“I am proud to be a part of the Bedsidebooks Program which puts smiles on the faces of people as they deal with the daily issues of recovery, rehabilitation and chronic illness,” said Spiro. “It also puts books in the hands of school children whose classroom bookshelves are bare.”
Spiro is a “champion” who has made a tremendous contribution in his community. As a teenager, Raphael is the founder of the Bedsidebooks Program involving over 100 student volunteers in seven states who have distributed approximately 6,200 books to date. Recipients of these books include: 12 nonprofit nursing homes, four schools, two shelters and Operation Support Our Troops.
Spiro has been persistent at using free resources on the Internet to promote the availability of this program and recruit student volunteers. As a result of his efforts, Bedsidebooks has had an impact on the quality of life of nursing home residents and their visitors as well as on the education of young people by encouraging them to read. In addition, Spiro has created a Web site to explain the basics of the program with a list of the nonprofit nursing homes in the volunteer’s community.