Emergency medical treatment in Israel became a bit easier to obtain thanks to the efforts of two young men from the Edison/Highland Park community who raised funds for United Hatzalah of Israel. Congregation Ohr Torah of Edison hosted an event to celebrate the amazing chesed projects of Chaim Epshteyn and Koby Chaim Broder on Sunday, Jan. 12. More than 100 people stopped by to watch Epshteyn and Broder be recognized for their tremendous efforts, see decorations, and enjoy refreshments all in the United Hatzalah orange color.

Lives are lost every day due to the delay between calling for emergency help and the arrival of the help. United Hatzalah founder, Eli Beer, designed an emergency response system that would get trained medical help to the injured or sick within 90 seconds and increase the likelihood of patient survival and recovery. In addition to traditional ambulances, United Hatzalah maintains a fleet of ambucycles, all-terrain vehicles, boats, helicopters, and more that can reach patients quickly and can travel where traditional ambulances can’t go.

Avi Tobias, a member of the International Board of United Hatzalah and an Edison resident, presided over the ceremony. “I’ve been to fundraising events for United Hatzalah where generous donors write large checks. This is the first time for me to see a grassroots level campaign where these incredible young men spearheaded such an undertaking.” He thanked Broder for raising over $11,000 which will provide a United Hatzalah member with medic training as well as a helmet and state-of-the-art bulletproof vest to keep them safe as they answer calls. Calling Broder a “real go-getter,” he recalled how “It was incredible to see Koby approach complete strangers at the Israel rally in Washington (fall of 2023) and show them the QR code for them to make donations.”

Although he could not attend the event in person, a taped segment of Eli Beer congratulating and thanking Broder and Epshteyn was shown, as was a brief video describing the history of United Hatzalah and how the diverse group of more than 8,000 volunteers from all walks of life and all parts of the country come together to save lives.

Epshteyn raised nearly $36,000 to meet his goal to donate an ambucycle. In addition to traditional methods of soliciting donations from family and friends, he incorporated his love of Legos into the fundraising by holding workshops and classes to raise additional funds. He also shoveled snow and held tutoring sessions. His interview on the podcast “InKredible Kids — Am I a Hero?” led many viewers to write him letters and send donations and inspired a few to take up their own fundraising projects.

Tobias presented Epshteyn and Broder with their own official orange/black reversible Hatzalah jackets while cautioning them to wear them on the “black” side when outdoors as they are not yet trained to care for someone in an emergency. Tobias related that the jacket did come in handy, as someone saw him wearing it and presented him with over $200 that his late father had had in a pushka. Over the course of the ceremony, additional donations and pledges came in to surge Epshteyn over his original stated goal.

An actual ambucycle was on display at the event, with the dedication attributed to Epshteyn written on it. While this was not the actual ambucycle that will be put into use in Israel where the need is determined to be the greatest, it was still a huge draw for children (and adults) to see and touch.

Some of Epshteyn’s custom-made Lego ambucycles were available as gifts for people who made donations and United Hatzalah also had their logo items available to encourage donations. The official event ended with a ribbon cutting and the recitation of Shecheyanu (without Hashem’s name), inaugurating the new vehicle into service.

Broder, a freshman at Yeshivat Frisch in Paramus said, “I feel really good about today. It is amazing to see an actual vehicle that was in operation and know all the good it has done.” Mara Soverinsky, New Jersey regional development officer for United Hatzalah, noted that “It isn’t just this ambucycle or the ambulance the Edison/Highland Park community donated previously. The community should be very proud of what they are doing and the impact it has on saving lives. The antidote to unpleasant news from Israel is to help provide Israel with the tools to save lives.”

Chaim, a seventh grade student at Yeshiva Shaarei Tzion in Edison, grinned as he said he felt “great,” adding, “I worked really hard to get to this point. It feels good to see the whole community get together and support me.” United Hatzalah Development Officer Hadas Hayun noted that Epshteyn and his family had been inspired by the work United Hatzalah did and visited their headquarters in Israel, and “became even more inspired to have a positive impact.”

“These two young men are extremely generous and kind. They saw how great the need is to save lives in Israel. I think what they did is incredible,” said Jeremy Cole, United Hatzalah public relations officer.

For any questions or to learn about donation opportunities, contact Soverinsky at [email protected]. To learn more about United Hatzalah, Israel’s leading volunteer and free medical response network, visit israelrescue.org.