A wonderful addition to Mayanei Hayeshua, “Yair’s Gift Room” – was donated by “Yair’s Gift House” – a non-profit organization founded by Meirav Holander – which provides gifts and toys for hospitalized children to ‘cheer up the kids and bring a smile to their faces’.
The organization donated an entire room designed and decorated to delight children. The room is beautifully appointed with vibrantly colored walls and bright lights. Happy drawings are everywhere – on the closets, on the floor; the furnishings consist of kid-sized strong, round, ‘low to the ground’ wooden tables and chairs. Meirav, Yair’s Gift House founder, keeps close watch on inventory to make certain that the Room is always filled to the brim with toys and gifts.
Rikki Meiry manages Yair’s Gift Room. She chose to volunteer for this task as a way to honor the memory of her late sister, Rachel Bat Dvorah, A’H, who passed away from cancer. For Rikki, “it feels like a dream come true…I never thought the day would come that we would have a special, big room containing toys and gifts just to bring pleasure to sick children.” Rikki feel an extra special connection to Yair’s Gift Room because “the Room was officially inaugurated on the Yahrtzeit (anniversary of death) of my dear sister…Because of this it motivates me even more to continue working for the sake of bringing smiles to the faces of sick children.”
Rikki has a crew of teenage boy and girl volunteers who bring children hospitalized at Mayanei Hayeshua to Yair’s Gift Room. Children who are especially struggling with their in-hospital situation are taken there to choose a ‘special prize’ and to enjoy the upbeat, fun feeling of being in a special place just for kids despite being hospitalized. The joy and excitement experienced by these children is something to behold. Sadness is replaced by ‘simcha’; despair is replaced by delight. Other uses for the Room include:
- As an Arts and Crafts facility providing hospitalized children with activities
that are both fun and distracting. - As a ‘Party Room’ in which children who are unfortunately hospitalized during specials occasions, like Birthdays, can still celebrate.
