TIFTON (Georgia) GAZETTE

July 28, 2007

A source of hope for migrants

By Jana Cone

TIFTON— Two migrant farm workers, just released from Tift Regional Medical Center after being seriously injured in a van accident in Ty Ty, needed $750 for two weeks of emergency lodging. They called Philip Kellerman.

A group of six migrant workers and their children in Tifton needed $1,230 for rent and utilities after they were in an accident. They called Philip Kellerman.

A migrant mother in Tifton needed $485 for rent after her son was released from St. Jude’s Hospital in Memphis following his treatment for leukemia. She called Philip Kellerman.

A homeless migrant family of six from Missouri were seeking work in the Tifton area and needed $925 for rent and deposits. They called Philip Kellerman.

The father of a migrant family in Tifton was laid off from work and he needed $321.53 towards their utility bill to avoid the service being disconnected. He called Philip Kellerman.

A migrant woman in Tifton with high blood pressure and diabetes needed $138 for medication. She called Philip Kellerman.

A migrant mother of five children living in Tifton needed to pay a $271 utility bill when the father was put in jail for domestic abuse. She called Philip Kellerman.

A migrant mother and her children in Tifton had to seek safety in a shelter in Adel and needed $214.94 for a utility bill. She called Philip Kellerman.

Two migrant students each needed $250 from a scholarship fund to attend ABAC. They called Philip Kellerman.

A migrant farm worker in Ellenton needed emergency orthopedic surgery on his arm after a fall. He called Philip Kellerman.

A migrant student needed $300 for testing to transfer from ABAC to Georgia Southwestern University. He placed a call to Philip Kellerman.

Most residents of Tifton have probably never heard of Philip Kellerman, but more and more migrant families here know him.

Kellerman’s most recent assistance to a migrant family in Tifton was last Monday when he paid $145.79 to Colquitt EMC because the migrant family’s work in a peanut gin ended a month ago.

Who is Philip Kellerman?

Philip Kellerman is a man on a mission.

His mission is to raise funds for migrant farm workers and their families through his foundation. He is the president of the Harvest of Hope Foundation headquartered in Gainesville, Fla.

As of June 14, 2007, Harvest of Hope has distributed more than $534,000 to migrant families in need for vehicle repair, housing, utilities, medical services, bills, food, clothing, funeral services and tuition. Established in 1997, Harvest of Hope is the only national foundation to raise funds exclusively for migrant farm workers and their families.

In 1989, Kellerman was employed by the Eastern Stream Center on Resources and Training at the State University of New York at Oneonta. It is a resource center dedicated to migrant education.

“In 1996, the Department of Education funded a hotline,” Kellerman said. “And we got over 150,000 calls.”

Kellerman spoke Spanish, so he was assigned to answer the hot line. He had learned Spanish from living in Miami and Spain.

What happened when he answered that hotline would affect Kellerman for the rest of his life.

“People called about their rent, about their car breaking down, about needing food, about everything,” Kellerman said. “But I had no money to address their needs.”

Kellerman said he was very frustrated. “I found out there is not much aid out there,” he said.

“I will always remember the first call I got on the hotline,” he said. “It was a family that had left Texas and were in Owatoona, Minnesota. They needed $262 to fix their vehicle. Work had not started yet and they had no money.” Kellerman said he had no way to help them.

Not long after the hotline was started, Kellerman’s grandmother, Dr. Helen Zand, died. She had graduated from Cornell, had a law degree and had been in social work for many years. Kellerman was very close to his grandmother and had an opportunity to talk with her before she died about starting a foundation to raise funds for migrant families. She liked the idea.

“I inherited some stock from her,” Kellerman said. “I sold the Exxon stock and started the foundation.”

Kellerman said most of the money given to the foundation is from private donations. The foundation has now established 25 different funds. One of those funds is the Israel Cortez Education and Emergency Fund for Georgia Migrant Students. It supports the education of migrant students and provides emergency aid to migrant families in Georgia.

When Kellerman got married, he moved his family and the foundation to Gainesville.
“I like for people to think of this as a last resort for help,” he said. “Unless it is an emergency, I like to have a referral from an agency.”

Kellerman said he adheres to strict guidelines and said, “I like to see them do something to help themselves.” He said he tries to verify information he is given when a request is made. “If they need money for a utility bill, I want to speak with the utility company and see what the record of payment has been,” he said. “One woman said she needed $486 for a utility bill and I learned she had never made one payment, not even a deposit.” In another instance, when a woman requested $103 for a utility bill, he learned it was the first time she had been late on a payment. “Those are the ones that make it,” he said.
Kellerman said he is not interested in helping what he called “system surfers.”

Kellerman was in Tifton Wednesday to meet with Mercedes Mendoza, who has made referrals to his foundation in the past. He plans to travel a good deal over the next year to make people aware of the foundation and “to create more awareness of the migrant workers’ contribution, the hard work they do, how loyal and humble they are and how hard they work to try and make a go of it.”

“I love what I do,” he said.

 “I don’t have a staff, I take the calls,” he said.