Ezer Mizion
Invite reviews
Invite friends and colleagues to share their experiences with this nonprofit
June 12, 2012
Our grandson was born at the Rabin Medical Center in Petach Tikvah, to our great joy and to the joy of the entire family.
Three days after his birth, our daughter-in-law's condition deteriorated rapidly and she was rushed to Intensive Care for emergency treatment. Tragically, despite the medical treatment, our fervent prayers, and our hopes, she returned her pure soul to her Creator at the age of 23, leaving behind a young husband, two young orphans - age two years and a baby of less than three weeks - and a shocked and grieving family.
As soon as our daughter-in-law entered Intensive Care, we contacted Ezer Mizion for guidance and assistance in choosing the right doctors, to ensure that she received the best medical attention possible.
A representative of Ezer Mizion got in touch with us and for two entire weeks, day and night, he would call us, get an update, and speak to the medical staff. He was there for us constantly during this entire difficult period.
Furthermore, as a result of the baby's low weight, the brith milah had to be postponed. It was only on the third day of Chol Hamoed Sukkot, at 12:20 PM, that we were informed that it would be possible to hold the brith milah that day (and it was not advisable to put it off to the next day because his mother was in critical condition ...). The mohel set the time for 2:00 PM.
Within an hour and 40 minutes we had to organize an entire brith - including a festive meal, clothing for the baby, etc. When we called Ezer Mizion to consult with them, we were advised that they would arrange everything. Just one hour later, a representative arrived with generous portions of rolls, salads, cold cuts, drinks, etc. as well as dishes, cutlery, etc.
At the end of the event, I asked him how much I owed him for this feast. He was insulted by the question, and responded that there was no charge - not a single penny - everything was purely as a good deed.
Dear Rabbi Chollak!
It is for good reason that the great Torah sage Rav Chaim Kanievsky said, "Ezer Mizion are my emissaries. . . ."
Continue to glorify the name of Heaven through your important and holy enterprise and may the Holy One Blessed be He always be of aid to you.
More feedback...
How would you describe the help you got from this organization?
Life-changing
How likely are you to recommend this organization to a friend?
Definitely
How do you feel you were treated by this organization?
Very Well
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
June 11, 2012
I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt thanks for the help I received form Ezer Mizion recently.
The volunteers who took me five times a week to and from Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital for several weeks made these treatments so much easier for me. Meeting these dedicated people was inspiring. It is a great chesed you perform and in the future I would like to be among your volunteers.
Special thanks to the people who help make the arrangements everyday!
More feedback...
How would you describe the help you got from this organization?
A lot
How likely are you to recommend this organization to a friend?
Definitely
How do you feel you were treated by this organization?
Very Well
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
June 11, 2012
My name is Yaffa. I am an intelligent woman with a lucrative profession, and
I am employed in a prestigious position. I like esthetics, cooking, art,
music, and most of all - I love children.
A few days after our sixth child, Efrat, was born, I was not the same
person. It was like somebody else had come to inhabit my skin. I was always
upbeat and capable of handling all the household crises that crop up daily.
Suddenly, I felt frightened, unsteady. Fragile. Like a crumpled leaf to be
crushed into dust at the gentlest wind. I cried without stop. I was very
confused, angry at everyone around me. I was living in a nightmare and my
family had joined me in my horrific dream.
When Efrat was three weeks old, my husband knew that we urgently needed
counseling. The house was on wheels, the atmosphere was poisoned with the
nasty remarks that were not mine but were coming out of my mouth.
I wasn't communicating normally. I wasn't caring for the baby and certainly
not for the older children. It was my body, but the real me was a million
miles away. My husband understood that something very serious was happening,
something that required the help of a professional. But who??? The very fact
that we needed help precluded our asking for help. How could we ask friends
or family? It had to be kept quiet. Nobody should know, no one should
talk...We couldn't let it continue. Yet we couldn't do anything to stop it.
For ten days, my husband went around trying to pretend that all is well,
deluding himself that any minute, it would pass, covering things up from the
children, and even more so, from himself. One day, he passed by the big Ezer
Mizion building. He didn't let himself think. He closed his mind to the
ever-present worry that people will find out. In seconds, he found himself
standing in front of the receptionist's desk and blurted out, "Who can I
talk to on the subject of post-partum depression?"
From that moment on we were no longer alone. We had someone to consult,
someone with whom we could share our feelings and our pain. And Ezer Mizion
was the ultimate in discretion. Hot meals began to arrive at our home and
devoted volunteers took the children to the park in the afternoon. They
immediately sent me a wonderful companion, who gave me support and helped me
get organized with the simplest, most basic things.
I underwent a rehabilitation process at Ezer Mizion, in a framework adapted
just for me. I made beautiful progress, and Ezer Mizion celebrated every
step forward along with us.
A few months later, I was already able to return to my job and care for my
home and family. Ezer Mizion continued to help me in every imaginable way
for a long time, until I was functioning at full capacity. Gradually, Ezer
Mizion receded from our lives, as normal life concurrently reentered. And
no, no one ever discovered our secret.
More feedback...
How would you describe the help you got from this organization?
Life-changing
How likely are you to recommend this organization to a friend?
Definitely
How do you feel you were treated by this organization?
Very Well
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
June 11, 2012
My name is Mika and I’m an eighth grader. One day I went for a very special haircut. I watched as my hair that I had been so proud of was put into a container marked Ezer Mizion to be used to make wigs for cancer patients. With all their other problems, cancer patients also have to be embarrassed because they have no hair. It’s a very special feeling to give a part of yourself to help someone else.
More feedback...
Was your donation impactful?
Definitely
How likely is it that you would recommend that a friend donate to this group?
Definitely
How likely are you to donate to this group again?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
June 10, 2012
Dear bone marrow donor,
THANK YOU!
Since we cannot know who you are and tell you personally all that we would like to say, we shall do the best we can and express our feelings through this anonymous letter.
Our entire family and all our friends and the many people who are concerned for the health of our loved one send the greatest thank you that it is possible to transmit. Giving of your time, effort and pain as you did, for someone you don't even know, and at no profit for yourself - is not something that is self-understood.
No matter what the results of the transplant will prove to be, you can mark off to your credit the priceless merit of saving a life, as we are told: "When a person saves one soul, it is as if he saved an entire world."
Your donation has struck an emotional chord in each of us and has planted hope in our hearts - both for our loved one's health and for life in general - the refreshing knowledge that people like you exist who are willing to do anything for another person, a stranger, just in order to save life.
If only we had enough words to thank you for your selfless donation.
We wish you and your family much health and success in all that you do.
With love -
From the appreciative family
More feedback...
How would you describe the help you got from this organization?
Life-changing
How likely are you to recommend this organization to a friend?
Definitely
How do you feel you were treated by this organization?
Very Well
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
June 8, 2012
The retreat for diabetics was unbelievable. You can't imagine how energizing it is to spend a whole Shabbat with peers you can talk to, to be yourself, to know that you're not the only one dealing with this challenge, day in and day out. These retreats are the real injections that keep us going the whole year around!
More feedback...
How would you describe the help you got from this organization?
Life-changing
How likely are you to recommend this organization to a friend?
Definitely
How do you feel you were treated by this organization?
Very Well
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
June 8, 2012
I graduated from college with honors, and ended up with a successful career as VP of sales for a marketing company.
I had started not feeling well in 2002, mostly gastro issues. The doctors assumed I had an infection – there were lots of tests, but no answers.
Then the answer came. And when it did, I wished it hadn’t. I’ll never forget the look in my parents’ eyes when they heard. It wasn’t a stubborn stomach virus. It was cancer.
How does a mother face the possibility of losing the child she gave birth to? My mother cried. My father stood there stoic, clenching his fists. He was the rock of our family but the rock was trembling.
In the summer of 2009, Dr. Rai explained that since no treatments were effective for me I would need a stem-cell transplant. This was the last stop. There was nothing else. I felt like my world was coming to an end. That was my only option. I needed a donor who matched my genetics. If there was one, the transplant would take place. If not, …My sister was tested but she was not a match. So Dr. Rai sent a search request to Ezer Mizion. At that point I knew my life depended on two things, finding a donor and time. My race for life began.
I was 42 when I had my stem cell transplant and I just celebrated my 45th birthday. Every day is a blessing. I thank my donor many times every day!
I’m excited for the future. I have a lot more life to live and because of Ezer Mizion and my donor I am ALIVE and ready!
More feedback...
How would you describe the help you got from this organization?
Life-changing
How likely are you to recommend this organization to a friend?
Definitely
How do you feel you were treated by this organization?
Very Well
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
June 8, 2012
I have been living in Israel for 3 years. I am still on all the 'Old Country' email lists and look on longingly about all the Golf Outings that are advertised at various times during the year.
Whenever I participated in the day's events, I always enjoyed the entire atmosphere camaraderie's, food, and of course the golf. If a trip stateside coincided with one of the various outings I would have attended, I would try to work my hectic schedule into the outing, but - more often than not - it was not possible.
Living in Beit Shemesh, having a day job and not being an ardent 'twice a week' golfer, my golf skills waned and my rounds became few and far between. Which has been a shame because the year I made Aliyah, the Caesarea Golf Course reopened its beautiful Pete Dye designed championship course. I was able to play every few months but not more.
Shortly after arriving to Israel, friends and family started turning to us for advice on where to go and what to do as they found themselves on the JFK-Ben Gurion express once again. They are always looking for the 'out of the way', 'off the grid', 'never did that before', thing in Israel. Invariably the suggestion was met with 'been there, done that'.
Until one year when my friend Simmie visited from West Hempstead. He was investigating different yeshivot his high school senior was interested in attending the following year. He also knew there were quite a few others that were traveling to Israel the same Thanksgiving weekend.
After an exhaustive yeshivah search he found himself with an afternoon free. Having done practically everything else in Israel, he wanted to play golf. A few phone calls later we had two foursomes and a tee time at the Caesarea course. We followed up the round at a restaurant in the Herzalia marina and one of the participants commented on what an absolutely great and different day this was.
This began the wheels turning in our heads. If; with a few quick phone calls, we can organize a great golf day, why not make this into an annual event and raise money for a worthwhile cause?
Playing golf, eating food, having fun and all done in the name of raising money - we right away came up with a worthy organization: Ezer Mizion.
Our relationship with Ezer Mizion began six years ago. Simmie introduced me to the organization and on one of our many trips we had packed some gift bags or brought some clothes and we were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to tour their facility and deliver the goods to a welcoming recipient.
We discovered that Ezer Mizion has its hand in so many areas. It may be a family whose mother is struggling with cancer and unable to cope or a frail octogenarian desperate to maintain his independence or perhaps a special child frustrated by failure.
The prime division is its International Jewish Bone Marrow Registry. Our tour of the place was where we learned about the registry.
They had just initiated the testing of every IDF recruit and their numbers of specimens in the bank was growing along with their costs. They estimated if the number of people in the bank was 1,000,000 they would have a 97-99% certainty of being able to provide a match for any Jewish person that would, G-d forbid, need it. Clearly this was a suitable match for our fundraising efforts. Saving one soul is akin to saving the world. Currently they are the fourth largest registry in the world behind the USA, Germany and Brazil. They are the largest Jewish registry.
Irv Hackel played an important role in helping us arrange for a speaker to come and give us words of inspiration while raising money for Ezer Mizion. Other events and circumstances led us to the logical next step, raising money for Ezer Mizion via a golf outing in Israel. As far as I know there are no other ones like it. With Simmie spearheading the US efforts and my being in Israel and arranging the logistics, we inaugurated the Annual Turkey Shoot Golf Outing in Support of Ezer Mizion's Bone Marrow Registry.
This was not as simple as making a few phone calls, but everyone we spoke with was enthusiastic and eager to help. The golf course was happy to help us with the planning. Holy Bagel gladly jumped aboard as a sponsor and provided breakfast and lunch. After all said and done we had 24 golfers, had an incredible amount of fun and raised a lot of money.
Afterwards there was a unanimous agreement to make this an annual event. Many people who heard about it after the fact pledged to play the following year.
More feedback...
Would you volunteer for this group again?
Definitely
For the time you spent, how much of an impact did you feel your work or activity had?
A lot
Did the organization use your time wisely?
Very Well
Would you recommend this group to a friend?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
June 8, 2012
There are some things that you hear a lot about, but do not really grasp until you encounter them in real life. Only then do you suddenly truly understand all that you heard or saw on the subject, and realize that - until now - you really had no idea what it was all about.
That's what happened to me recently when, for various medical reasons, I had to travel from my home to the hospital, back and forth, repeatedly. When I attempted to use public transportation, I learned that I would have to take three different buses in order to reach my destination. My health situation could not tolerate all that time on buses. Taxis were way out of my budget. I was at a loss of what to do. Then suddenly, the "good angels" I had heard so much about appeared out of nowhere and opened my eyes.
A friend referred me to Ezer Mizion's Transport Division. It was there that I discovered an entire world of busy activity, humming quietly underground - or more accurately - above the ground, on the asphalt roads. I revealed an entire network of volunteers, regulars and occasional, at set hours and odd timers, with big vehicles and little ones. Among them were very busy, rushed people, who are anything but bored. Nevertheless, they were all there on call, like soldiers at a drill, quick to respond to every request from Ezer Mizion's coordinator to come help another Jew.
I don't have to describe the distress of patients and their families, some of whom unfortunately suffer for long periods of poor health. Much of that time, they spend on the roads, between home and the hospital. The other family members, and especially young children, get caught in the middle, desperate for a bit more attention and less isolation and distance from their harried parents.
The endless travel time turns from an inconvenience into a nightmare, as the lengthy trips steal away big chunks of time from the children, and the long hours spent outside the home come at the youngsters' expense.
You cannot possibly understand the tremendous kindness in the mitzvah of facilitating speedy, comfortable transport of patients and their escorts, until you go through it yourself. We hope that no one should have to go through the experience and that everyone's loved ones will stay well and healthy, and that by just hearing about it, people will come to a true understanding of how significant volunteer driving really is!
Ezer Mizion's volunteer transport network is based on the caring and cooperation of hundreds of drivers who devote time and patience, driving their own cars and paying for the gas, to pick up patients and their companions and get them to their destination.
At this opportunity, I suggest that drivers devote some thought to this important topic. Whoever feels he can find the time to help out in this important chesed should speak to one of the organizations he is familiar with and offer his assistance to drive patients and their family members. In this way, more Jews can be helped to get through their difficult times with relative ease and comfort and to gain valuable time for the benefit of the patients and their children.
May all Jewish patients experience full recovery and render all these chesed avenues unnecessary!
More feedback...
Would you volunteer for this group again?
Definitely
For the time you spent, how much of an impact did you feel your work or activity had?
A lot
Did the organization use your time wisely?
Very Well
Would you recommend this group to a friend?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
June 8, 2012
After years of a protracted struggle against lymphoma, my remaining option was the possibility of a transplant from an unrelated donor. Thanks to you and to the remarkable enterprise established by Ezer Mizion, a compatible donor was located for me. During the course of the treatments I underwent, two additional donations were required. You mobilized the effort to save my life and did whatever was necessary to cure me. You did everything willingly and graciously, but also with determination stemming from the mission you voluntarily undertook.
Words do not suffice to express what I feel these days, now that I am liberated from a prolonged period of hospitalization. During this time there were more than a few difficult moments, and the bone marrow donations you organized for me with a willing heart, within a very short time framework, enabled me to recover.
I still have a long way to go, but I feel strengthened and hopeful about the success of the process. This is in large measure due to your exceptional generosity and kind-heartedness, and to all the good people who helped - and first and foremost, you.
It is wonderful to know that there are still good people like you, who volunteer day and night, for the purpose of literally saving lives. May such good deeds increase and may a cure be found for all those in need of one.
More feedback...
How would you describe the help you got from this organization?
Life-changing
How likely are you to recommend this organization to a friend?
Definitely
How do you feel you were treated by this organization?
Very Well
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
Filter by reviewer role:
Support This Nonprofit
Help this nonprofit get more reviews
5 tips for getting reviews