Israel has quite the negative reputation around the world, but we know that our homeland is a genuine “light unto the nations.” Therefore, it was appropriate that Randi Weiss, the Director of Young Leadership at the Save a Child’s Heart organization, came to speak to students during Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, about the incredible life-saving work coming out of Israel that, unfortunately, does not get an iota of media attention that other aspects of Israel does.
Save a Child’s Heart (SACH), based in Holon, Israel, provides urgently-needed pediatric heart surgery and follow-up medical care for needy children from developing countries, where the heart surgery these children need to live normal lives is not easily obtained or entirely unavailable. Holon is the base of the Wolfson Medical Center, where the surgeries take place.
Randi visited Frisch thanks to the efforts of Dr. Tuvia Book, our director of Israel Education and Advocacy, who regularly works with the organization and frequently takes participants on the Birthright Israel missions he guides to volunteer there as part of their Israel experience.Dr. Book also had his Daughter’s Bat Mitzvah project at SACH and recently climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania (19,350 ft) with a SACH team to raise awareness and funding for SACH.
Randi was immediately relatable to the students, as she is a young woman who made aliyah from her hometown of Vancouver, BC, Canada, after finishing college – as many of our students one day wish to do. Randi is in charge of coordinating volunteers and youth leadership events in Israel and abroad. She spoke to students about SACH’s dedication to children of all races, religions and backgrounds, and how 4,000 people are alive today because of a small group of doctors and other medical professionals who volunteer their time and professional expertise to perform life-saving cardiac surgery and train others to do the same. Randi also showed a short, moving video highlighting the beautiful children who are saved only because this organization, and the diversity of their backgrounds—there were families with children from the developing world including Syria, Iraq, Ethiopia, China, the Palestinian Authority, and many more.
Students stayed afterward to speak with Randi, ask her more about her work, and how they might go about volunteering for the organization on their upcoming trips to Israel.
“I’ve spoken to a lot of groups, and I was very much impressed by the energy of the students at Frisch,” said Randi. “They asked very thought-provoking questions about the work of Save a Child’s Heart, and I had a great experience discussing my work with them and explaining about how they can go about volunteering, when they are next in Israel, to visit with the children who are either preparing for or recuperating from the surgery that will allow them to live normal lives.”
“When I take young men and women to Save a Child’s Heart, they are always moved and almost always ask me why this amazing organization does not get more media attention for its work,” said Dr. Book. “I am committed to doing my part to raise awareness of Save a Child’s heart, which is only one of many Israeli organizations dedicated to making the world a better place.”