If you can, please check out this important campaign by the Step by Step organization in England, which helps our disabled sisters & brothers (and their families!):
https://www.charityextra.com/stepbystep
They're offering a matched campaign on Sunday August 30-Monday August 31, in which every donation will be matched by generous donors. (This means that if you donate $50, another donor will donate $50, making your donation $100.)
ANY & EVERY amount counts. You can pay by your local credit card (or Paypal) in your own currency. (I paid with an Israeli credit card in shekels, and it was one of the quickest & easiest online transactions I've encountered.)
If you're familiar with Mrs. Nechumelle Jacobs, a lovely frum poet who is wheelchair-bound due to cerebral palsy & has been interviewed in frum magazines, you can donate to her specific page here:
https://www.charityextra.com/stepbystep/7578
Needless to say, you can donate anytime, even after the matched campaign is over.
It's a wonderful way to tip the scales in our favor & sweeten din (judgement) before Rosh Hashanah.
Here's a message from Step by Step:
https://www.charityextra.com/stepbystep
They're offering a matched campaign on Sunday August 30-Monday August 31, in which every donation will be matched by generous donors. (This means that if you donate $50, another donor will donate $50, making your donation $100.)
ANY & EVERY amount counts. You can pay by your local credit card (or Paypal) in your own currency. (I paid with an Israeli credit card in shekels, and it was one of the quickest & easiest online transactions I've encountered.)
If you're familiar with Mrs. Nechumelle Jacobs, a lovely frum poet who is wheelchair-bound due to cerebral palsy & has been interviewed in frum magazines, you can donate to her specific page here:
https://www.charityextra.com/stepbystep/7578
Needless to say, you can donate anytime, even after the matched campaign is over.
It's a wonderful way to tip the scales in our favor & sweeten din (judgement) before Rosh Hashanah.
Here's a message from Step by Step:
Dear Donor
Last year, our crowdfunding campaign was a resounding success — thanks to you!
Your support enabled us to reach our goal, and to continue supporting the families of special children.
With your support, we introduced daily Stay & Play sessions, installed a state of the art sensory room, and so much more.
The last two years have been busy years for us as we've introduced new services and programs.
But we need your help again, to help us take the organisation to the next level.
We are running another crowdfunding campaign this Sunday and Monday 30-31 August, where every donation will be doubled.
Covid-19 unfortunately meant that lots of our usual funding was stopped. At the same time, we offered lots of new respite services to help parents manage during this time, so expenses were higher than ever before.
We look forward to seeing your name up on our campaign page again.
In the zchus of helping families cope with their special children, may you only know of gezunt and nachas in your family.
Gratefully,
The Committee
And here's some background to Step by Step, how it got started & what it does:
KEEPING FAMILIES WITH SPECIAL NEEDS SANE AND SMILING
Founded in 1998 by Mrs. Toby Waltzer, whose two sons with special needs were bringing the walls of her house down, Step by Step has grown to support 150 local families in similar circumstances.
Parents and siblings of children with special needs never signed up for a life of bedlam; they need the community’s support.
Step by Step provides a wealth of services occupying and caring for children with special needs whenever schools are closed to take the strain off the parents and siblings.
That’s every day after school, Sundays, Shabbos and Yom Tov, summer and winter vacation, the week before Pesach and more, with different divisions catering for the different ages, boys and girls.
They also run a sports programme with sessions like swimming, ice-skating and horse riding. Besides being exhilarating and fun, these activities improve the children’s physical skills significantly, giving them a chance to glide beyond their disability, if only for the moment.
It’s exorbitant to run but the results are priceless.
These fulfilling out-of-school programmes grant families some 30 hours a week of ‘normal’. That’s their only chance to bond undisturbed — and just be — without waiting on edge for the next bang!
But the normalcy only lasts as long as the child is out. The moment they return home, the calm unravels. Think: breakages, meltdowns, emergencies. As one mother put it, ‘If I wouldn’t have Step by Step, I would have to give up my child.’
And that’s why this campaign is so important. The more funding Step by Step has, the more the future of their services -- and the harmony in homes — is assured.
You can help assure these families keep them sane and smiling simply by donating https://www.charityextra.com/stepbystep
Wishing everyone much bracha & hatzlacha, robust health, and a complete & quick healing!
Disclaimer: I only found out about this organization & campaign just now, via an email to my Inbox. I receive no compensation for promoting this & they don't even know I've posted this. So no ulterior motives on my part; just think it's a great organization that deserves as much support as we can give them.
Disclaimer: I only found out about this organization & campaign just now, via an email to my Inbox. I receive no compensation for promoting this & they don't even know I've posted this. So no ulterior motives on my part; just think it's a great organization that deserves as much support as we can give them.
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