Milestones Newsletter Issue #5 October 2009

30 Years of Global Impact on the World of Special Needs www.afobis.org

Milestones Newsletter Issue # 5 – October 2009

Contra Costa Jewish Day School (Lafayette, CA) Be A Mensch

Lemonade Stand for Yinon rd

Last year, while trying to think of ways to empower a group of day school 3 graders, Amy Slater-Ovadia sent me the Beit Issie Shapiro video. I was overwhelmed. The Cycles for Smiles idea was exactly what I had been looking for. Since the beginning of the school year, I had been studying with my 3 rd grade class the idea of using our Judaics knowledge to behave as mensches to one another. Now we were prepared to take the next step and move out into the world with our mensch middot and arachim (values and virtues). We brainstormed ideas for ways that we could do Tikkun Olam (fixing the world). The students had some great ideas. Then Amy came in to tell them about Beit Issie Shapiro and about how we, as a class, could adopt a child. When we voted it was unanimous. Embarking upon the journey, which turned out to be “Change for Smiles” at our school, we first examined the challenges faced by our newly adopted friend, Yinon. We studied epilepsy and cerebral palsy specifically within the whole spectrum of special needs. We researched, read books, hosted guest speakers and tried to get a drink from the school water fountain while in a wheelchair. After we felt educated, we shared our knowledge with our peers speaking to the rest of our school’s classes (K-8) about Yinon, Bet Issie and our project. As part of our Yom Atzmaut celebration, each of our over 100 students made a Tzedakah box with Yinon’s picture on it to kickoff our “Change for Smiles” campaign. For the next four weeks we periodically made the rounds collecting and encouraging students to help us fill our Tzedakah meter. We raffled off homemade tie-dye t-shirts to 4 participating students and recognized the classroom that contributed the most money. Students created lemonade stands, did chores for grandparents and explained Beit Issie Shapiro to neighbors. Together we were able to far surpass our monetary goal and the students had an especially proud moment presenting Mrs. Ovadia with our check. But most importantly we had gained a new friend in Israel. When one of our 3rd graders was fortunate enough to meet Yinon this past summer, while visiting Beit Issie Shapiro with her family, our Cycles for Smiles project came full circle. Seeing her photograph with Yinon and his beautiful, smiling face, I felt hopeful that this 3rd grade class of mensches had truly been able to experience their power to go out and create positive change in our world. This year’s incoming 3rd graders are already asking when we will begin… Thank you Amy and thank you Beit Issie Shapiro! Hadas Rave, Hebrew/Judaics Teacher/Contra Costa Jewish Day School

BIS, My friend and I collected money for you. My name is Leeron and my friend's name is Angela. We were successful in collecting $51.50 by having a lemonade stand on our street. Thank you very much, Leeron & Angela

CYCLES FOR SMILES GOES INTERNATIONAL On Friday October 16th, 160 kids from Raanana’s Shivtei Yisrael Community launched Beit Issie Shapiro’s Cycle for Smiles program in Israel. The kids met after school and rode their bikes, tricycles and scooters around Park Chaverim to raise both awareness and much needed funding for Beit Issie Shapiro’s social inclusion program. All 160 kids and their families cycled many miles for so many smiles….. It was a very special day, not to be forgotten anytime soon.

Milken Community High School (Los Angeles, CA)

Joining the CYCLE this Fall:

North Shore Synagogue (Syosset, NY) Sandra and Lawrence Bronson Early Childhood Development Center (Miami Beach, FL)

Temple Aliyah (Woodland Hills, CA)

David Posnack Jewish Community Center

RASG Hebrew Academy (Miami Beach, FL)

(Davie, FL) Michael-Ann Russell Jewish Community Center (Miami Beach, FL)

Hillcrest Jewish Center Day Camp (Flushing, NY) Along with Rabbi Manes Kogan, raised $1000 for their special buddy, Neta. Together, with Ohr Chadash, they raised their money through a “penny war” at camp. A LITTLE CHANGE MAKES A WHOLE LOT OF CHANGE!

Noah Greene volunteered this past summer…. Volunteering for two weeks at Beit Issie Shapiro was an experience that I will remember all my life. I volunteered in the Early Intervention Center which is a special school for children with developmental disabilities between the ages of two and four years old. During the days I volunteered in the Early Intervention Center I had the fun experience of playing with and taking care of the cute children. I also volunteered in the Special Education Center which is a school for special needs children up until the age of twelve. I was truly amazed by how much fun the children were having while singing and dancing to their favorite songs. One of the fondest memories I have from my volunteering was the "Yom Maim" or water day in both the Early Intervention Center and the Special Education Center. It was a wonderful feeling seeing the children having so much fun playing with the water. That is why it was such an amazing experience to volunteer in the Hydrotherapy Pool. I got to see children who could not walk on their own outside the water practice walking and swimming in the pool. I had the opportunity to witness and be involved in all that Beit Issie Shapiro has to offer for people with special needs. I have always had a tremendous love for Israel and it was a great experience coming to Israel to volunteer at Beit Issie Shapiro. After two weeks of volunteering I know that I will feel a connection to Beit Issie Shapiro and the children I volunteered with for the rest of my life.

30 Years of Global Impact on the World of Special Needs www.afobis.org

Bonnie Vorspan Cycles For Smiles Board Member

B’nai Mitzvah Twinning Clayton Stone of Palm Beach, FL Celebrated his Bar Mitzvah at Beit Issie Shapiro with his special buddy, Eden!

While I was a nursery school director, Amy Slater-Ovadia called and talked to me about Beit Issie Shapiro. Our nursery school had a special needs Sunday School program for preschoolers and BIS, our already existing trike-a-thon and our Sunday School program were a perfect match. When I retired from the directorship I wanted to continue to do Tzedakah work for BIS, so talking to the other nursery school directors about incorporating BIS into their Tzedakah programs was another perfect match. After visiting BIS in Ra’anana, witnessing first hand the wonderful work that BIS does and wanting to continue to promote the blessings this amazing organization provides to all of the Israel….well, it continues to be a perfect match!

Temple Adat Elohim (Thousand Oaks, CA) Raised over $1,000 for their buddy! Marcy Goldberg was excited to participate in making a difference and has already begun the Cycle again……

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, CYCLES FOR SMILES Margie Ipp, Founder Lucienne Adams Audrey Freedman Habush Paula Hoffman Sigalit Nechemia Carole Perl Mina Rush Bonnie Vorspan AMERICAN FRIENDS OF BEIT ISSIE SHAPIRO BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dear my friends at Beit Issie, Thank you so much for a very special and memorable experience. I will never forget my joint bar-mitzvah with Eden. I hope to continue to regularly visit you guys in Israel and hope to stay in touch and help out in the future. Thank you gain, helping Eden do his bar-mitzvah was one of the greatest and most special moments in my life. Hope to see you guys soon! Thanks again – Clayton Stone

Temple Etz Chaim (Thousand Oaks, CA) We thank the Early Childhood Center & their families for making a difference in Oren’s life!

Stephen S. Wise Temple The spirit of giving is here! Mitzvah Day 2009 is around the corner...what will you teach your child about mitzvot? At the ECC we're talking a lot about Oriyan, our sponsor child attending Beit Issie Shapiro in Israel. Oriyan will be completing his program at Beit Issie this year largely in part to the wonderful support and love our families have shown him over the past two years. In class, teachers share photos of Oriyan and talk about differences. For young children this is an important first step in learning about tolerance, acceptance, and compassion. And, we integrate discussions about mitzvot as we talk about Oriyan and his individual challenges. What we know for sure is that you are your child's first model - they watch what you do and learn from you. If you participate in tzedakah, they will too. And while we ask for your tzedakah and SOVA contributions every week, we will gather together as a community on Mitzvah Day, November 1, at the ECC and share activities that are fun and family oriented, and that teach this commandment to your children. At Mitzvah Day, your child will be able to ride in a RACE ACROSS ISRAEL in our Cycles for Smiles course. Your family can read books about differences together, watch a video about Beit Issie, and create a page in our Oriyan Book. Your minimum donation of $36 will go toward critical services Oriyan needs to build life skills. And, we believe it's so important to support him that we're having a second opportunity to Cycle for Oriyan on Monday, November 2. Every class will have a 15 minute cycles time during our School day to show their support by riding for children that cannot. Every child will participate, but, we ask for your show of support by registering and sending in your minimum donation in advance. Complete a form in your classroom and return the form with your donation to our office or to your teacher and we'll see you at Mitzvah Day. Don't forget to come early and eat pancakes, too! You may be aware of the personalized Tzedakah box your child brought home last week. This is part of our efforts to Oriyan support Oriyan, too. We're having a contest to see which class can fill their boxes and raise the most money – so please help your child fill up the box and then watch them dump the change into their class bucket on Mitzvah Day and Cycles for Smiles. The winners will get a prize and we know how you love to win! Thanksgiving will be here in a blink of an eye. This year I'm thankful for many things, including the work I do as leader of our School program. Please join me on Mitzvah Day where we can be thankful for the gifts in our lives and help others who need our support to fulfill the dreams they have of their own. Dr. Sheryl Cohen, Director of ECC, Stephen S. Wise Temple

METRO NEW YORK CO-CHAIRS Alvin & Aliza Broome NATIONAL DIRECTOR Ed Ward WEST COAST CO-CHAIRS Errol Fine Marty Spiegel WEST COAST DIRECTOR Yael Blasberg SOUTH EAST CHAIR John Bussel SOUTH EAST DIRECTOR Steve Rose EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BEIT ISSIE SHAPIRO Jean Judes CEO INTERNATIONAL Naomi Stuchiner NATIONAL MILESTONES DIRECTOR Amy Slater-Ovadia

Beit Issie Shapiro Update BIS LAUNCHES IT’S 30TH ANNIVERSARY

West Coast Gala 2009 Please join us for what is planning to be an amazing evening at our 7th annual Gala dinner! Honoring MR. AVI LERNER for his humanitarian efforts on behalf of Special Needs Children Special Guest Speaker MICHELE SHAPIRO, OTR PH.D. we are proud to recognize and pay tribute to our dear friends DR. SHLOMO & ILANA MELMED and DENNIS & MYRA MONK who have partnered with us throughout these years WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2009 ~ 6:30 in the evening Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel ~ 10500 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles Gala generously underwritten by PAT AND ERROL FINE ~ Dietary Laws Observed - Business Attire - Valet Parking ~ Info: (323) 938-9851