Dear Families,
Most people don’t like gala fundraising dinners, so we don’t do them. However, just over a week ago, Tuesday, we had one of the most epic moments in BFL’s history. Over 500 people came together at Tribeca Rooftop in NYC to support the soldiers, BFL style. And though it looked like a fundraiser at first glance, we all went through something powerful together. As Rabbi Chaim said, “We have come together tonight to support our injured soldiers, we have come together to honor two of the most beloved people in NYC, Cliff and Alyssa Greenberg, (at that point, the entire crowd started cheering, and soldiers started singing!), but we have also come together to take you on a journey, through the eyes of the soldiers into the heart of BFL.
Through a series of videos and soldiers, we began where BFL started, at the hospital:
Another video showed how the programs in Israel, through our Beit Achim, enable our soldiers to transform their lives literally. Then we showed a video of BFL’s secret healing weapon – YOU!
Lastly, one of the most heroic couples in BFL came to the stage, Dror and Hila K. Dror is paralyzed from his injury and only has the use of one arm. He met Hila after the injury, and Hila refers to him as her “knight in shining wheelchair.” They both spoke so beautifully and from the heart. At one point, Dror talked about how he went on a cycling (yes, cycling!) trip with our BFL cycling team. Using an electric wheelchair on the road, Dror felt free. At one point, they came to a large hill, and as Dror describes, “I decided to gun it!”, he went so fast that he ended up crashing his bike and sliding across the concrete road. At that point, the audience went silent. Dror asked, “Do you know how I felt?”, “I felt F….ng ALIVE!!” We all stood up and cheered. It was just an incredible moment that expressed everything BFL is about.
I must take a moment to thank Cliff and Alyssa Greenberg, Bob and Amy Book, and of course, the Samson Family for everything they do for BFL. There are too many people to thank for making this historic experience possible, but huge kudos to our team members Chemi Rubin and Ohad Poraz for producing and directing the videos. You showed the magic of BFL in a way we didn’t think possible. Thank you to our incredible BFL partners from around the world who flew in from around the world. You are the best!
Lastly, thank you all for helping to create one of the most unique organizations on the planet.
With gratitude from Israel,
Yaniv