We then proceeded to Hadassah Hospital where we divided ourselves into 3 different floors to hand out toys and presents to children. We walked into each room introduced ourselves and got to know the children. Many of the parents explained to us what their child was going through and that they were filled with joy that we came to make them happy. Just by seeing their smiles all of us knew that were were doing something great. We left by acknowledging the wonderful care the staff and nurses were providing.
Our third stop was to Shalva, where we met the founder, Kalman, and heard the amazing story of his son, Yosi, who is known as the "Helen Keller of Israel." We then had a dance party and rikkudim with all the children there.
We then visited Caliber 3, a special counter-terrorism training site, there we heard from a mother who lost her soldier-son in Gaza and then were taught self defence skills. With each stop of the day we opened our eyes and hearts and realized the real purpose of why we joined this mission. There is no better feeling than helping and putting smiles on people's faces. We look forward to all the chesed that comes next! ~Bettie Cohen