Mother-daughter group believes in community giving
By Gail Sanders
Special to The Acorn

DEDICATED--These Oak Park girls and moms have formed a local service organization called Believe.

Sometimes it takes a little luck and a lot of planning and belief to make things happen. This is the philosophy behind Believe, a mother-daughter group based in the Oak Park area.

Formed in 1997, Believe is the offshoot of a Girl Scout troop, but rather than working toward badges, the mothers and their daughters (who are in middle or high school) work for social change instead.

"We want to communicate certain values to our daughters by showing them by example and by living these values," said Helaine Esterson, spokeswoman for the group. "The goal is to create a sense of leadership for the kids, so they can do things to make the world a better place."

Although the group meets only once a month, they’ve already left an imprint on the community.

Some of their most recent endeavors have been raising money for the Tedjasaputra family, which recently lost their mother to cancer; participating in the Revlon Walk-Run for Life and the Susan G. Komens Cancer Run; feeding the homeless in a church; and wrapping gifts for the poor and needy during the holiday season.

By far, one of the group’s most popular activities has been "Project Caring," in which the girls go to the Hillcrest Royale, a senior citizens retirement center in Thousand Oaks, and lead Friday night Sabbath services.

"The girls have developed grandparent-grandchild relationships with the senior citizens there," said Esterson. "We’ve learned a lot from the senior citizens there and about that part of life. It works against ageism and segregation."

The girls agree.

"It’s a lot of fun to be with your friends and to help out in the community," said Rachel Levine, an eighth grader at Medea Creek Middle School in Oak Park. "It makes you feel good once you leave."

"It’s a good experience to help other people," said Stephanie Nathanson, an eighth grader at Colina Middle School in Thousand Oaks. "It gives you a good opportunity to enlighten other people’s lives."

Future activities for the group include a garage sale scheduled for Sat., March 3 and a dance marathon, pending the selection of a location.

Members of Believe include Sara Cohen, a freshman at Agoura High School, and her mother Cheryl; Jenna Esterson, an eighth grader at Medea Creek Middle School, and her mother Helaine; Lauren Frieband, a freshman at Oak Park High School and her sister Carolyn, a sixth grader at Medea Creek Middle School, and their mother Patricia; Alexis Lipnicki, an eighth grader at Lindero Canyon Middle School, and her mother Rhonda; Stephanie Nathanson, an eighth grader at Colina Middle School and her mother Gail; Alex Pearlman, an eighth grader at Medea Creek and her sister Sammie, a sixth grader at Medea Creek and their mother Marika; Samantha Stieger, an eighth grader at Medea Creek, and her mother Donna; and Samantha Stoll, an eighth grader also at Medea Creek, and her mother Robin.

For more information about the group, call Gail Nathanson, fundraising chairwoman at (818) 991-8328.