The Dining Center’s Bruce Levine reaches out to Native Americans and the needy.
by Brenna McBride

Bruce Levine has never met the residents of the Pine Ridge and Rosebud reservations in South Dakota, but it’s because of him that their days and nights will be just a little warmer. They wrote heartfelt letters of gratitude when they received the shoes and jackets he sent them last winter, and it’s this outpouring of emotion that pleases him the most.

“It’s a really good feeling to see how much they appreciate everything,” he says.

Haverford’s manager of catering and faculty dining became involved with the Pine Ridge and Rosebud reservations through Kita Kece Mineyo, Inc., a nonprofit organization started by his mother, Paula. Kita Kece Mineyo—which translates as “Rides With the Wind”—brings together Native Americans who are lonely and housebound, and longing for companionship and conversation with volunteers eager to share words of friendship and encouragement.

Paula Levine was first introduced to the plight of some Native Americans 10 years ago through a television documentary that laid bare the typical conditions of the Pine Ridge reservation, such as prevalent alcoholism and high unemployment rates. At the time she was retired as a teacher’s aide, but had no intention of sitting on her laurels. “She’s 70 years old, been married for 52 years, raised five children, provided a loving home for eight grandchildren, and she still has so much to give to others,” says Bruce.

Paula began attending meetings of a Wilmington, Delaware Native American group, Wa’Okiye (“We Help” in Lakota). It was here she learned that the Pine Ridge and Rosebud senior centers only had television sets to entertain the elders, so she and other members of the group collected books and music and started a pen-pal program. When Wa’Okiye disbanded last year, Paula founded Kita Kece Mineyo, and soon had mobilized her grandchildren, local elementary school children, and other members of the Wilmington community to take action.

Letter writing is a significant activity at Kita, but volunteers also seek donations of clothing, school supplies, and other necessary materials. Paula keeps a list of the individuals on the reservations and calls them often to make sure they’ve received packages and are enjoying their pen-pal matches. She’s always on the lookout for more things to send, says Bruce: “At her checkups she asks the doctor if he has any medical supplies to spare.”

Normally, the residents of the reservations let Paula know what they need, but sometimes the mail brings surprises. “Someone sent them a VCR, but they didn’t have any videos to play,” Bruce says. “So now we’re taping movies and children’s shows for them.”

Besides donating such items as shoes and jackets, Bruce helps his mother recruit volunteers (some as far away as Australia and Bulgaria) and solicit local contacts for financial contributions. “Most of our money is eaten up by postage,” he explains.

It’s evident that Bruce has inherited his mother’s magnanimous spirit, not only through his work with Kita, but also via his various external volunteer commitments. He lends a hand to local campus charities and “adopts” Philadelphia families for the holidays, delivering meals and non-perishable items. Of course food plays a large part in his good works: A business major turned into 30 years in the food industry. He’s worked at Paxon Hollow Country Club in Broomall, Pa., owned a restaurant and two delicatessens, and now caters most of Haverford’s faculty and staff events around campus.

“The Dining Center also does a lot to help needy people,” he says. Not only does the DC provide food for student volunteer projects, but it also reaches out to employees and other members of the Haverford community who have fallen on hard times. “If people get sick, or become needy, the DC brings them boxes of food and sometimes whole dinners,” says Bruce.

It’s deeds like these that make Bruce all the more thankful that, instead of pursuing larger catering ventures in sports stadiums, he acted on a friend’s recommendation to interview at Haverford five years ago. “I’m sure glad I ended up here,” he says.

To volunteer for or give a donation to Kita Kece Mineyo, contact Paula Levine at unci.pl@verizon.net