Finding out a family member has cancer is devastating. No matter what the prognosis, it’s scary as hell. Nobody thinks it will happen to them, but illness doesn’t consult family members before it strikes. Every individual handles the news differently, and the prognosis of a specific illness will obviously impact the reaction of each family member. However, in all cases, children often don’t know how to address their inner feelings, fear and questions. They don’t know if they should feel scared, if they should ask questions or if they should act normally. In many instances, they feel guilty about not feeling anything at all. Moreover, the immense repercussions on the family that ensue after a devastating diagnosis in terms of both physical and emotional time often take away from a family’s ability to focus their attention on the children.

In steps iShine!

I am writing this article to express the tremendous hakarat hatov I have for this organization, and to bring awareness of the amazing work they do. The entire staff of volunteer young adults and adults all have a singular focus of making the kids who come feel ‘’special” and “normal.” Kids from every school and adults from the entire community all volunteer their time each week to help with homework, or just play and have fun. They have dinner together, and volunteers drive the kids to and from the premises as needed. They use Yeshivat He’atid as their home, and I would be remiss if I didn’t offer a separate hakarat hatov to the yeshiva for donating the use of their school. Speaking for all the parents who send their kids, we are so grateful!

Nobody gets paid. All are volunteers. And everybody has smiles all the time! They have special activities every week, and make birthdays feel extra special. My son runs to iShine every Monday and Wednesday night with an excitement that I can’t explain to you in writing.

Rebbetzin Michal Zahtz runs the program efficiently and proficiently, and from our perspective it is one of the most amazing organizations in the world. If you have spare tzedaka money and are looking for a new organization to donate to, I cannot recommend iShine more highly as a place to donate.

I express my sincerest thank you to all of the volunteers, and wish you long, healthy lives filled with all the joy and happiness you bring to the kids each week!