Mending Hearts, Building Lives

[COMMUNICATED CONTENT]

Sweet, vivacious Miriam was devastated! With the sudden death of her mother, her entire world caved in, and her bright, winning smile disappeared.

Over 130 years ago Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin began gathering orphaned children from the streets of Jerusalem and bringing them into his own home. With love and wisdom, he cared for those innocent souls whose hopes for life had been snuffed out. Before he passed away, Rabbi Diskin promised that from his place in Heaven he would act on behalf of all those who support Diskin.

For many years Diskin was a model orphanage, bringing joy to the hearts of children in desperate need, all over Eretz Yisrael. In recent decades, we at Diskin have changed our approach. We now enable our charges to remain at home with the surviving members of their families. Social science has proven that this approach gives children a much better chance to overcome the huge challenges they face in the wake of their loss. To help these shattered households function and grow, Diskin provides a full array of services; and in recent years we have extended our reach to assist not only orphaned children but also children from broken or dysfunctional homes, who face so many of the same challenges.

Preserving the dignity of our charges and avoiding making their families feel like helpless beggars is Diskin’s top priority. As such, all assistance is provided in the most discreet manner possible.

Diskin makes sure that the children receive all the medical and dental care they need. In many cases we deliver delicious hot meals daily, and always with a smile and an encouraging word. To help children advance academically, we mainstream them into the most appropriate schools, and we provide tutoring and mentoring whenever it is deemed necessary. We do our best to see to it that these children grow up to become self- supporting adults who will contribute to society.

We at Diskin consider all of our children to be our family members, and we celebrate their milestones. When a boy becomes bar mitzvah, we are there, providing a festive catered meal at a beautiful simchah hall. We arrange for the entire family to receive new clothing, and we see to it that lively music graces the occasion. When one of “our children” gets married, we are the mechutanim. Besides helping with the wedding expenses, we make sure that the new couple will have a furnished home and all the basic necessities to begin their life together.

One of Diskin’s major projects is to provide clothing twice each year, at each holiday season. In keeping with our policy of making the children feel good about receiving our assistance, we do not simply distribute garments and pairs of shoes. Instead, we give the families vouchers they can use at quality stores to purchase clothing and shoes that they themselves choose, just as other children do. Indeed, it is most important to us that our children feel “just like everyone else.”

If only you could see Miriam today – smiling, jumping rope with her friends…. She is a joy to her family members and teachers. As we watch her personality and talents blossom, we know that all our efforts, all our tears and prayers, have borne fruit.

The Father of all orphans has graciously allowed us to be His partners, as He showers His blessings on Miriam and on all the pure, innocent children who have so much to gain from Diskin. We can never replace Miriam’s mother, but we can build Miriam’s life in so many significant ways!

This Pesach we will be providing clothing for over 1,700 orphans so that they can enter the holiday season and the spring and summer with pride, wearing the stylish, high-quality clothing we enable them to choose. This will help them feel true freedom, as we are all meant to feel on Seder night!

Please join us at this time; help us maintain and increase the vital assistance we provide. Together we can bring some measure of comfort and even joy to those about whom the Al-mighty promises, “If you will bring joy to those of My Household and to those of your household during the holidays that I have given you, then I in turn will bring joy to Mine and yours in My House” (Midrash Tanchuma, Parshas Re’eh).

For details about the Diskin please visit the Diskin site: www.diskin.org.il

Credit card donations can be made by phone, Or online: http://diskin.org.il/donations.php

Checks can be sent to

ISRAEL:

16 Reiness St. POB 36320

Jerusalem 91363, Israel

Phone: +972 2 5488621

USA:

1533 44th St.

Brooklyn, NY 11219

Phone: 718-851-2598

CANADA: