The snowfall that blanketed Jerusalem and other locations in
Eretz Yisroel last week provided an opportunity for rescue
and chessed organizations to show their true colors,
dispatching hundreds of volunteers to offer assistance and
save lives.
Hundreds of volunteers at Ichud Hatzalah, which stood out as
one of the most active organizations during the snow
conditions, responded to over 350 calls for urgent
humanitarian assistance in Jerusalem and Tzfas, the largest
communities that had snow.
The headquarters office, which operated around the clock for
48 hours, dispatched all-terrain vehicles, jeeps and numerous
volunteers eager to help residents manage during the
snowstorm. They delivered medication for elderly people and
babies, hot food for the needy, brought chassonim and
kallohs and their family members to and from wedding
halls, and transported dozens of people who needed to get to
hospitals for medical treatments. They also used jeeps and
other vehicles outfitted to drive in snowy conditions to
transport doctors, nurses, mohalim and medical
equipment. In one case volunteers even brought a widow and
her children to Har Hamenuchos Cemetery to mark the end of
her husband's Shiva.
Last Thursday afternoon the emergency response centers set up
by the various chessed organizations closed shop after
successfully assisting numerous patients and needy
residents.
Yad Sarah vans transported many dialysis and radiation-
therapy patients to hospitals for treatments. Over the course
of 30 hours dozens of drivers transported hundreds of
patients and people in need of medical care. The organization
installed snow chains donated by Friends of Yad Sarah in
Switzerland, on 20 vans.
Residents of Gush Etzion, including Beitar Illit, were helped
extensively by Lev Yehudit, whose volunteers manned the
organization's ambulances around the clock for two days,
transporting patients one after the next, including dialysis
patients, women in labor, chassonim, kallohs,
and many more.
The organization was involved in extricating numerous cars
and passengers stuck in the snow. Situated at an even higher
elevation than Jerusalem, Gush Etzion received a heavy
snowfall. Cars slid and got stuck, people got stranded and
family members got stuck in Jerusalem after the Tunnel Road
was closed to traffic.
Among the chessed organizations active in outlying
towns was Ezrat Achim, which operates primarily in Beit
Shemesh. The organization's ambulances were on the roads,
bringing patients and their family members to and from
hospitals and providing other types of assistance.
Yedidim, a new organization, also dispatched many volunteers,
who worked in cooperation with Ichud Hatzalah. Lev Malka
ambulances were busy during the snow, especially in
Jerusalem. Chairman R' Aharon Averman says the volunteers at
the organization, which set up a response center as soon as
the snow fell, had their hands full with chessed
tasks.
