Warning: It’s catchy. Anyone walking through the doors of Ezer Mizion is liable to pick it up. It’s a feeling of wanting to give and give some more. It affects each one in a different way.
Take Elad. He is known as the Puzzle Man and for good reason. He arrives laden with boxes and boxes of puzzles to give out to kids dealing with cancer. There he is going from one to the other, helping with the hard pieces, instilling confidence, showering them with smiles. Today he is accompanied by Yaheli, a Bar Mitzvah boy who wasn’t satisfied with just having a party. He wanted to also celebrate by giving. And so he contributed his own batch of puzzles, asked his guests to write empowering notes and joined Elad in spreading happiness.
Rotem is forced to endure what no child should know about, spending a great deal of time in a scary hospital fighting leukemia. But there was no sign of her tears – only joyous giggles – during the most super-duper Bas Mitzvah party in town, courtesy of Ezer Mizion. Her smile spread from ear to ear when her favorite singer surprised her with a visit and a rendition of all her favorites to entertain the guests.
Adi has been a volunteer for eight years creating fun and laughter with his magic shows. But recently he found himself in another part of the building – the Bone Marrow Registry. Adi was found to be a genetic match for a cancer patient. He was flying high with this opportunity to not only bring joy to those cancer patients who may not have smiled in days but, this time, to actually make that cancer go away! His proudest possession is the certificate he received saying, ‘You have saved a life!’
And then there is Rudy. Joanna, his grandmother had been saved by a transplant ten years ago. There was no one happier than Rudy who now felt he had completed the circle as he lay in hospital bed, giving his own stem cells to save another.
And you must meet Basel who decided that the best way to celebrate her birthday, the day she was born, is to give life to someone else. Her excitement was boundless when she was told that she is a match for a cancer patient and her stem cells would be needed just around her birthday. Surrounded by balloons, she spent hours in a hospital bed with a smile that never left her face.
Yes, it’s catchy. That feeling of giving. Giving of yourself to help others. And like a boomerang, it turns right around and gives immense joy right back to you, the giver.
