“I will never forget when we were finally allowed to re-open a few weeks ago,” says Kalman Samuels, Founder and President of Shalva, the Israel Association for the Care and Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities. “Watching the mini-buses bringing Shalva kids here, and seeing the staff and volunteers meeting them in a long-awaited reunion… it was a beautiful moment of joy to see Shalva coming back to life. I was incredibly moved.” Shalva, which was shut down for six weeks as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, recently re-opened, and is gradually resuming its activities.
Samuels’ joy at the resumption of Shalva’s operations is tempered by the reality of guiding the organization throughout the current economic downturn caused by the pandemic. “We receive government funding, but the level of service that we give, and our ability to serve the population, demands a great deal of additional funds, and thank G-d, we were raising those funds each year.” Today, however, businesses are struggling to stay afloat, in Israel and around the world, and the global philanthropic landscape is no longer the same," says Samuels. "We are all the more committed to supporting our children and families, especially during this challenging period."
It is for this reason that Shalva, for the first time in its 30-year history, has initiated an NIS 3 million public crowdfunding campaign, called Back To Life, which ends on Thursday night, to raise the necessary funds to keep Shalva operational. “Funding is critically needed,” he explains, “to enable us to continue the process of bringing back all of our children and programs to full capacity.” Since its reopening, Shalva's programs have been operating at a limited capacity and require additional funding to reach its normal capacity of helping 1,000 children and adults with disabilities every day. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a great deal of uncertainty about the future, and there may even be a second wave that will hit Israel soon. “Life has changed." says Samuels. “We have had to readjust our programs as well as our fundraising initiatives, including a new crowdfunding campaign."
Samuels adds that one of Shalva’s major donors was so moved by the way Shalva's parents, staff members, volunteers and supporters all got behind the campaign that he decided that he will be matching contributions made through the Back To Life campaign in the last thirty-six hours, thereby doubling donations. “It is so needed, and we are hopeful that everyone’s small gifts will add up to an enormous difference in our ability to provide quality of life.”
Samuels, who was himself in quarantine during the shutdown, explains that the closing was particularly difficult for the thousands of Shalva children and their families. “The lockdown was very challenging for Shalva families and all families of children with disabilities. With rehabilitative programs closed, the task of maintaining the children's therapy routines, health, and wellbeing became primarily – if not exclusively – the task of the parents." During the lockdown, children and their parents could not leave their homes.
Shalva, which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary, provides an all-encompassing range of services for thousands of people with disabilities and their families. Its comprehensive life-cycle programming provides leading-edge therapies, inclusive educational frameworks, social and recreational activities, employment training, and independent living, as well as respite and family support. Shalva serves the entire gamut of Israeli society, helping children from birth through adulthood, and offers vocational straining and inclusive apartments in the community.
Shalva’s advanced programs and facilities have created new frontiers in disability rehabilitation, research, and inclusion, and have impacted the world beyond those in its direct care. Samuels notes that 200,000 people visit Shalva each year from around the world. “Shalva has become a center of excellence where people come to learn and take back a model for improving their own communities, whether it is a particular program or putting more color on their walls.”
Shalva, which was founded by Samuels and his wife Malki, opened its doors on June 10, 1990, in a small Jerusalem apartment, and is now housed in the spacious 11-story Shalva National Center. Looking back over the past thirty years, Samuels says, “To think, that we would become one of the largest centers of its kind, is a dream. We were overwhelmed when we opened with six kids, and here we are providing an entirely different scope.” Samuels points out that the organization’s dreams and aspirations were helped along the way by the practical assistance provided by the support of visionaries and philanthropies who helped move Shalva forward at every stage of its development. Shalva is today asking for the assistance of the general public. “Today, at this particular crossroads, hopefully, there will be many people who will step up and help us get over this challenge.”
Shalva is moving towards resuming its full slate of program operations, explains Samuels, “But we still have a way to go.” Help Shalva fulfill its special mission for Israel’s children by donating to its Back To Life campaign today.