OU's Yachad raises $1.6 million to support those with disabilities
The Jewish organization announced that the donations came from over 2,500 people, and the funding will underwrite services and programs as well as scholarships for those with disabilities.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFDisability inclusion in Israel by White Animation(photo credit: WHITE ANIMATION)
Yachad - an organization of the Orthodox Union which supports people with disabilities - raised a record $1.6 million during an end-of-the-year "Giving Day" campaign.The Jewish organization announced that the donations came from over 2,500 people, and the funding will underwrite services and programs as well as scholarships for those with disabilities.“As a result of COVID-19, many of our in-person programs and fundraisers were cancelled in order to protect the physical safety of our members, supporters and friends,” said Yachad associate director Ken Saibel.“The secondary result, unfortunately, was that many of our members felt more isolated than ever and our services became all the more important to them and their families," he said. "We’re thrilled that our community came together in such a strong showing of support to ensure that none of our most vulnerable community members are left behind.”With the funding, Yachad will increase its daily digital programming for its on demand services. It will also be expanding clinical support to families supporting a member with a disability, increase home delivery kits for those in isolation at home, purchase devices or computers for those partaking in Yachad's on demand programming and provide support to IVDU School students to help them switch from virtual to hybrid educational models as well as provide scholarships for the organization's summer programs."Yachad is a cornerstone program of the OU and plays a critical role in Jewish communities across the country by providing programming, services and Torah education to participants and their families," said OU president Moishe Bane. "We are grateful that the community rallied around them to make sure that we can continue programming that is so important to Yachad members and their families.""From the moment physical programming shut down in March, Yachad’s team has been finding innovative ways to continue to provide safe services to their members, and it’s humbling to see the community support their efforts in such a robust fashion," said OU executive vice president Rabbi Moshe Hauer.
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