700 riders to take part in Alyn Hospital’s Wheels of Love

Each five-day rider is obligated to raise a minimum of $2,500 or the equivalent in sponsorships, with the average rider managing to raise well over $5,000.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
Bike riding in the Arava region. (photo credit: ALON RON/WWW.GOISRAEL.COM)
Bike riding in the Arava region.
(photo credit: ALON RON/WWW.GOISRAEL.COM)
Some 700 riders from 15 countries are expected to participate in Alyn Hospital’s annual five-day Wheels of Love fund-raising event to be held November 6 to 10.
The country’s national center for rehabilitation of physically disabled children hopes to raise $3 million from sponsors of the riders – Americans, Canadians, Israelis and Europeans, all of whom care about Israel, children and cycling.
The money raised in the voluntary hospital’s largest annual fund-raiser will help offset the staggering shortfall the Jerusalem hospital has because the amount reimbursed from health insurance lags so far behind the actual cost of Alyn’s care. Last year, Wheels of Love raised $2 million.
“The hospital’s mission is to empower children to conquer the challenges of living with disabilities,” said director-general Dr. Maurit Beeri. “At Alyn, the impossible becomes possible, and the ordinary is extraordinary.
The combination of talented and devoted staff, state-of-the art equipment, cutting- edge rehabilitation techniques and courageous children and supportive families make it possible to transform disabilities into abilities.”
Each five-day rider is obligated to raise a minimum of $2,500 or the equivalent in sponsorships, with the average rider managing to raise well over $5,000.
The ride, which includes various routes and lengths, will conclude at Alyn on November 10.
More information can be obtained at www.alynactive.org/Wheels-of-Love.