Englewood—The Moriah School announced a fundraiser for Tackle Kids Cancer as well as a toy and book drive for Hackensack Children’s Hospital in memory of Evan Levy, an early childhood Moriah student who lost his battle with cancer last December.
“Evan’s loss has been devastating to the entire school community,” said Rabbi Daniel Alter, Moriah’s Head of School. He added, “Evan was lively, positive and loving, even through his rigorous treatments. Evan left a lasting impression on so many people, including the students and teachers at Moriah.” Two of those students, brothers Omer and Rone Rosen, were moved by Evan and his story and were inspired to raise money in his honor. Omer and Rone held a special bond with Evan as their mother had recently lost her battle to cancer only months ago.
With the help of middle school administrators, Rabbi Yoni Fein and Rabbi Eitan Lipstein, the students of Moriah will be hosting a school-wide event called #Kids4Evan on March 25 at Moriah. #Kids4Evan will help raise funds, toys and books that will benefit Tackle Kids Cancer and the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital at Hackensack University Medical Center. “The students at Moriah are excited to be able to give back to children fighting cancer, all in Evan’s memory,” said Omer and Rone Rosen.
This year, Moriah launched a Jewish Life Fellowship that was spearheaded and supported by Mendel Balk (of blessed memory), whose vision and generosity have empowered the students at Moriah to connect with their Jewish identity in innovative and dynamic ways. One of the central components of the fellowship is a mandate for all middle school students to complete a combined 30 hours of after-school charity work and Torah studies. Rabbi Fein added, “We have seen a tremendous amount of passion and leadership from our student body surrounding this fellowship. What is amazing about this campaign is that it was completely student-driven. As an educator, I cannot think of anything more inspiring than young students taking the initiative to sacrifice their own time and needs to help make a difference in the lives of others. We couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Fox 5 News heard about Omer and Rone’s story and invited them into the studio, along with Rabbi Yoni Fein, to share their story on TV in a nine-minute special segment. Omer and Rone shared their personal story about losing their own mother, and how their relationship with Evan moved them to make a difference in their community.
The video of the Fox 5 interview was posted online and has a combined view count of more than 18,000 as of March 11. The video can be viewed at https://youtu.be/jrUPIbAZ2tM. For more information or to make donations to the fundraiser or to the toy and book drive, please contact Rabbi Fein at [email protected].
The Moriah School (Englewood, NJ), one of the nation’s premier Jewish day schools, educates more than 700 students from across Bergen County. Moriah’s mission is to deliver an academic program of the highest caliber while instilling a sense of commitment to Torat Yisrael, Am Yisrael and Medinat Yisrael. Our school emphasizes the use of a variety of modalities in the classroom and beyond to enable each child to realize his or her potential in the spheres of academic, religious and personal growth.
