So far four projects have been funded for a total of $79,900.
A Ripple Effect, run by Rabbi Chaim and Bassy Mendelson, is a non-profit that gives youth the opportunity to help other children. Their program, The Visits of Love, organizes matchups between teens and children with special needs and received $11,500 in funding.
Rabbi Mendelson explains the impact of supporting this program:
“We do a lot of comprehensive programming to help both children dealing with various disabilities and mental health issues, or those affected indirectly by those issues. Our programs help the children, their caregivers and parents, and the teens involved in volunteering. People deserve friendship. Basically, we have children who because of disability may suffer from loneliness. Some can’t attend school, or do attend school but find it difficult to make friends … it’s a void in their lives. On the other side, you have young, vivacious teens who have all the things they need and sometimes get lost in their own lives. We pair them up — the teens go visit the children and magic happens.”