Light of the Future

Sponsored by The Hornblass Family

For more information about Keren Or, visit  www.keren-or.org.

Helping Israel's blind multi-disabled youth reach their greatest potential

For more information call 212-279-4070 or e-mail info@keren-or.org.

Innovative Gardening Therapy

The smell of the flowers

The feel of the rich, moist soil

These experiences are what make gardening so enjoyable for the children and young adults at Keren Or.  When a child cannot experience the world through sight, it can be difficult for him to relate to his surroundings.  Therapeutic gardening allows Keren Or's students to reach out and connect to the world around them, especially utilizing their senses of touch and smell.

The gardening activity allows for a direct multi-sensory experience

with the plants themselves: touch and feeling, smell, texture, shape and color, according to the level of useful vision. It also allows the students to feel the stages of development and growth, discovering the relationship between the care that is given to the plants and the success of their own work.

At the garden of Avukat Or, Keren Or's young adult center, students who live in the young adults' apartment are responsible for watering the plants daily.  They also are able to use some of the spices grown in the garden to prepare their evening meal-an activity done together with their counselors.  Some spices and produce are even sold at local markets, allowing Avukat Or students to earn spending money and giving them the satisfaction of having made a meaningful contribution to the community. 

The Women's Division of Keren Or invites you to fulfill one of the mitzvot of Purim by sending a card to your family and friends.    

All proceeds from the sale of the Purim Card will be specially designated to provide hydrotherapy sessions for the children and young adults at the Keren Or Center in Jerusalem.

and help us provide high quality care to even more children.   

Aiden Reiter, son of Jody Ellant and Howard Reiter of Connecticut, did not want his Bar Mitzvah to be just like any other.  He wanted to make tzedakah, charity, a part of this milestone in his life.  He chose Keren Or because he wanted to benefit visually impaired youth, and help his disabled Israeli peers to learn, just as he loves to read.  This cause is personal for Aiden whose great uncle and namesake, Edwin Katz, shared a love of reading until a degenerative retinal disorder robbed him of his sight.

By sharing with his guests the importance of his mitzvah project, Aiden raised over $4,000 for Keren Or!  He enclosed a personalized insert about Keren Or in his Bar Mitzvah invitation and featured photographs of children from the Center at his Bar Mitzvah reception.  Aiden also created his own customized web site on First Giving, a grassroots fundraising website, where he was able to raise money online as well.  Aiden is an example of the meaningful impact that young people can have when they set their mind to making a difference.  We thank Aiden for his commitment to Keren Or.

If you would like to dedicate your Mitzvah Project to Keren Or, please contact Avi Smolen at  avi@keren-or.org.

We can only succeed in advancing programs for our students' special needs with your involvement and support.  If you are in Jerusalem to visit family or for vacation, we invite you to take a tour of our state-of-the-art facility so that you can see first-hand the amazing work of our staff and the smiles on the faces of our students.  We also encourage you to share your experiences with your home communities, so that they too can understand the importance of caring for these children.  If you are interested, please call in Israel 073.240.0201 or in the United States 212-279-4070 and we would be more than happy to arrange transportation and a short tour of the facilities.