Chaverim of Rockland is proudly celebrating 27 years of dedicated service, marking nearly three decades since the organization was founded on July 1, 1999, by Rabbi Shaya Zev Erps. What began as the world’s first Chaverim organization has grown into an international model of volunteer emergency assistance. Since its founding, more than 34 Chaverim branches have opened around the world, following the volunteer-driven system first established in Rockland County, making Chaverim of Rockland the organization that inspired a worldwide movement of chesed and community service.
Today, Chaverim is powered by more than 220 volunteers, an extensive fleet of emergency response vehicles, advanced rescue equipment, drones, and one of the most highly trained volunteer search-and-rescue teams in the country. From roadside assistance and lockouts to emergency transportation, missing-person searches, and disaster response, Chaverim volunteers stand ready to respond.
For the tens of thousands of families who call Rockland County home, Chaverim has become synonymous with reliability. Whether it’s a stalled car during a snowstorm, a family locked out of their home late at night, a child who has gone missing, or a home left without heat in the dead of winter, the answer is always the same: Chaverim is on the way.
Over the past 27 years, Chaverim’s elite Search & Rescue Team has earned national recognition, responding not only throughout the Northeast but across North America. Earlier this year, dozens of volunteers spent more than a week in Toronto, Canada, assisting in the massive search for a missing girl. Just weeks before that, Chaverim deployed to Los Angeles, where volunteers searched tirelessly for nine days alongside local authorities and community organizations in the search for a missing elderly woman. Their dedication never wavered until she was ultimately found.
The team’s expertise has also been called upon in the most challenging terrain. In 2024, Chaverim volunteers flew to Flagstaff, Arizona, after an 8-year-old boy disappeared near Lava River Cave. Equipped with specialized search equipment, drones, and wilderness rescue expertise, the team joined the search and helped locate the child alive after he spent a cold night alone in the forest, reuniting him with his grateful family.
Back home, Chaverim continues to answer an ever-growing number of calls. During a major snowstorm this past winter, volunteers responded to nearly 3,000 calls in just 48 hours, assisting stranded motorists, transporting ba’alei simcha to wedding halls, and helping countless residents through dangerous weather conditions. The organization’s expanding Shabbos transportation service also continues to bring patients and families to and from hospitals every week.
The demand for Chaverim’s services continues to reach new heights. In 2025, the organization responded to a record-breaking 68,838 calls for service, reflecting the trust the community places in its volunteers every single day.
While Chaverim’s volunteers are the face of the organization, they represent something much greater—the responsibility of one community to care for another. As the organization proudly celebrates 27 years of service, it thanks the community for its unwavering trust and support and looks forward to continuing its mission for generations to come.
Today, Chaverim isn’t simply for the community, Chaverim is the community.
Wow wow thank you Chaverim