To Our Dear American Friends,
We are a sport center for athletes with disabilities. It’s what we’ve done for nearly 70 years.
But, just a few days after October 7, we knew The Center would become whatever Israel needed us to be.
While the war veteran organization and the IDF are the main players when it comes to wounded soldiers, there are so many others who still need our support; families of hostages, the refugees, the survivors of the Nova Festival and their families, and of course, all other children and adults who are injured in accidents or suffer medical conditions and are in need of services, while the rehab hospitals are full with victims of war.
Together with the Israel Social Security Development Fund, we introduced Project Shesek (Hebrew initials for sports, rehabilitation and community), which provides adapted physical activities to refugees in the north and south, with the intent to help them maintain physical and mental health while away from home. In the midst of chaos, our program coordinator, Dekkel, started knocking on doors in hotels, guest houses and host Moshavim and Kibbutzim. Three months into the project, she has nearly 100 people with disabilities active throughout Israel.
Our close work with large rehab hospitals has given rise to new initiatives, among them our children’s program on site of the Levenstein Children’s Rehab Hospital and our collaboration with the new rehab facility in Tiberius, due to open in the next few months.
We are working with the Nova Tribe Organization to provide rehab and relief services to the survivors of the festival and their families. We have already absorbed 5-6 of them here.
The Center has now been officially recognized as a supplier of rehab services to the Ministry of Defense. We are working out the details of this collaboration, but when duty calls, we will be there.
We are grateful to you, our friends in the US, for your friendship and support at this time. We know that times are difficult for diaspora Jews as well, and our hearts are with you. We will win this, together.
Yours,
Boaz Kramer
Executive Director