Helmsley Charitable Trust gives $1.75 million in grants to Israel to help the disabled and their families

JERUSALEM—The Helmsley Charitable Trust has announced 1.75 million dollars in grants to two Israeli institutions that help disabled children and adults, as well as their families. These grants are part of a continuing effort to invest in Israel’s leading institutions and critical initiatives toward the goal of strengthening Israel in the field of heath care and assuring that people with disabilities have quality community-based services. 

The $1,000,000 grant to Shalva, The Association for Mentally and Physically Challenged Children in Israel, is for funding for a dining hall and events floor in the organization’s new National Children’s Center located in Jerusalem. 

Shalva, a leader in disability awareness and intervention, currently provides services to more than 500 participants with special needs, including infants, children, adolescents and young adults by providing tailored programs and round-the-clock therapies. By placing an emphasis on social interaction, the child with special needs can better integrate into the community. 

The $750,000 grant to Beit Halochem-Tel Aviv is for funding for creation of a professional hydrotherapy facility and renovations to existing pool facilities.  

About 5,500 disabled IDF veterans, living in the country’s central region, are active members in Beit Halochem-Tel Aviv. Including their immediate families the overall number of participating members comes to 18,000.  At the center, veterans with injuries receive rehabilitation services and have a place to gather to spend time with family.

Beit Halochem Tel Aviv initiates and encourages research on various subjects, such as sports for people with disabilities and problems related to spinal injury and brain damage. Various sociological and psychological aspects of disabilities are studied at the Beit Halochem rehabilitation center. 

Since the Helmsley Charitable Trust began awarding grants to Israel in 2009, over $112 million has been committed to a wide range of charitable organizations. 

“These two grants demonstrate our belief that community-based health care services best serve the needs of families and children,” said Helmsley trustee Sandor Frankel. “Both Shalva and Beit Halochem are excellent examples of how state-of-the art treatment and rehabilitation can be carried out in the local environment and integrated in the fabric of the community.

“The philosophy of inclusion of children and adults with disabilities is one that the Helmsley Trust supports wholeheartedly. With respect to these grants in Israel, these two institutions are examples of excellence that will benefit not only Israel, but experts in the field of disabilities in the rest of the world as well.”