Jerusalem—On Monday, September 11, the ALEH Jerusalem Ladies Committee hosted their 25th Gala Event at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, an incredible evening featuring great food and lively entertainment to support ALEH (www.aleh.org), Israel’s network of care for children with severe complex disabilities, and honor the memory of Rivka Chervin-Weinberger, founder and long-time chair of the ALEH Jerusalem Ladies Committee, who passed away in June 2016.
The event, which included live music and the mind-bending antics of mentalist Nimrod Harel, drew more than 400 supporters from across Israel, including outgoing Consul General in Toronto and Western Canada D.J. Schneeweiss and his wife, Jo; Koren Publishers Jerusalem owner Matthew Miller and his wife, Renee; Senior Partner at Tel Aviv’s Herzog Fox & Neeman law offices Alan Sacks and his wife, Judith; Fun in Jerusalem’s Joanna Shepson and her husband, Jonathan; committee member Sally Ann Thwaites and her husband, Tony; and veteran committee member Susie Engel and her husband, Dr. Gabby Engel.
“When it came to ALEH, there was always a sense of urgency for Rivka. She understood that ALEH is not only helping children with disabilities but empowering their families and bolstering communities. She never slowed down in more than 30 years, always pushing herself harder to reach larger and larger philanthropic goals for the organization,” said Engel of her dear friend. “Rivka was inspired by the children of ALEH and their families, and we were inspired by her dedication to the cause. This joyous celebration of her commitment to ALEH was the perfect tribute to her legacy of caring.”
Shlomit Grayevsky, the director of ALEH Jerusalem, expressed deep gratitude to Chervin-Weinberger for championing the support of quality disability care in Israel for more than three decades.
“Rivka was a beloved member of the ALEH family and the greatest proponent of our mission to provide every child with complex disabilities in Israel the opportunity to reach their fullest potentials. She was a philanthropic powerhouse and the guardian angel of our ALEH residents, and her legacy lives on in the committee that she founded to change the lives of Israelis with disabilities and their families,” said Grayevsky.
ALEH was founded in 1982 by a group of Israeli parents who were determined to give their children with severe complex disabilities the best available care and the opportunity to develop to their fullest potentials. After more than three decades of successful growth and exciting advancements, ALEH has become Israel’s foremost network of state-of-the-art facilities for children with severe complex disabilities, providing over 700 children across the country with high-level medical and rehabilitative care in four residential facilities, located in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Gedera and the Negev. ALEH provides these residents with a continuum of loving care from infancy and childhood through adulthood, allowing them to advance, grow and live happy, dignified and meaningful lives.
Over the last 34 years, ALEH has become a global community based on the principles of sensitivity, commitment and kindness, making a difference in the lives of Israel’s most vulnerable children and building a better, more caring world.
