“I want to tell you all something amazing that happened to me and my family.”

This is the story that Mrs. C* recently shared at a meeting for Gan Yisroel mothers.

“One day, my teenaged daughter said, ‘Mommy, the next time we have a new baby in our family, let’s ask Hashem for a baby with Down’s Syndrome.’

“I was shocked. ‘Why?’ Malky said, ‘In my school, there are girls with Down’s syndrome. I love them! They’re special in a way that nobody else is.’

“Six weeks later… Mazel tov! I gave birth to a baby girl!

“She is beautiful… And she has Down’s syndrome.

“My children love our cute baby so much! They proudly show her off to all their friends.

“Yesterday, I was thinking…

“When I was in school, my friends were embarrassed of their siblings with special needs.

“I am so blessed that my children learn in Gan Yisroel, where they have absorbed such wonderful sensitivity and love! My house is a happy place because of this. And when I hold my new baby, I am comforted to know that there’s a school waiting for her… A school where she will be a Star student!”

Mrs. C’s story is a tiny window into the daily miracles that take place in Gan Yisroel of Boro Park, a wonderful mainstream school that hosts Stars Within Us, a top quality program for children with special needs. PLEASE HELP THESE STARS SHINE! CLICK HERE TO DONATE.

Belonging is an essential human need. But what if a child is different? Is it possible for a child to get the specialized education she needs – and still feel like she BELONGS within our community?  

Gan Yisroel is the only school in our community that says a huge, embracing, determined “YES, WE CAN!”

And they do. Within the walls of this school, girls who have special needs get an individualized education delivered by talented professionals – and at the same time, they get to be included with mainstream children! They are precious neshomos; they are the Stars Within Us.

Mrs. Goldy Gancfried, director of the program says, “This is a school that belongs to EVERYONE in our community! Whenever any school has a child with special needs, Gan Yisroel is the address. We have children from Boro Park, Williamsburg and Flatbush. We are a family that encompasses representatives of EVERY KEHILLA – Bobov, Belz, Satmar, Pupah… We are all here together.”

Mrs. D.* said, “When my daughter was born with Down’s syndrome, I wondered how far she would go in her life! Fast-forward to her graduation at Gan Yisroel… Miracles!”

Educating children with special needs comes with astronomical costs! But that burden doesn’t stop Rabbi Aron Ginsberg, executive director of the school. Rabbi Ginsberg is inspired by the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s vision of inclusion. Long before the concept of “inclusion” existed, at a time when the whole world called these children “retarded,” the Lubavitcher Rebbe referred to children with special needs as “Special neshomos.” In the twenty years since the school was founded, Rabbi Ginsberg has never turned away a child due to lack of funds! Rabbi Ginsberg doesn’t ask what a child’s limitations are. Instead, he asks, “What can we do to promote this child’s full-fledged development?”  

Please join Gan Yisroel in saying YES to Stars Within Us!

FOR JUST 12 MORE HOURS, EVERY DONATION YOU GIVE IS DOUBLED IN VALUE!!

Donate at GanYisroel.raisegiving.com

Gan Yisroel never says, “Let someone else take care of that kid!”

Please don’t say, “Let someone else donate!”

Open YOUR heart and GIVE WHATEVER YOU CAN! Together, Klal Yisroel will help the children at Stars Within Us REACH FOR THE MOON!

Donate at GanYisroel.raisegiving.com