Hila Samila, center, an Israeli missile attack victim who has been helped by One Family Fund, with New Jersey interns Rivki Dobin, left, and Chani Kazlow, right.
If you go
What: One Family Fund’s first One Family FunDay
When: Monday, Sept. 7
Where: Donaldson Park in Highland Park
Cost: Admission is $18, $36 per family, $100 for a family plus “patron” status. All proceeds will go to help victims of terror rebuild their lives.
Contact: To register for the festival, contact 646-289-8600, ext. 202, or elissa@onefamilyfund.org (five free raffle tickets will be given to those who register by Sept. 1).
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August 18, 2009
When Rivki Dobin met Israeli bombing victim Hila Samila, she was struck by how positive and upbeat she was.
“She was nearly killed in a missile attack last December, and yet she was so hopeful,” said the 20-year-old.
Dobin of Highland Park and four other interns — Chani Kazlow and Ariella Gottesman, both of Teaneck; Sarah Bond of Elizabeth; and Naomi Fein, who is visiting Teaneck from Jerusalem — all hope to share the spirit Samila embodies at the big event they are organizing to raise funds for the organization.
The “One Family FunDay” will be held on Labor Day in Highland Park, and will feature activities for all ages, including softball, relay races, face painting, a magic show, live music, and a basketball tournament.
“We want it to be something that brings everyone together, from all over the state, like one family,” Dobin said.
Samila, 32, was in the United States recently to speak about the ongoing aggression against Israel, and the way One Family Fund helped her recover from a missile attack.
According to a fund release, Samila was in her kitchen in Netivot on Dec. 27, last year, when a missile struck just outside her window. She was rushed to a hospital and underwent emergency surgery.
Soon after, Samila was at a retreat run by One Family when her wounds turned septic. In critical condition, she was hospitalized again, and surgeons operated on her repeatedly. Throughout that time, people from One Family were at her side.
She told representatives of the organization, “There must be a reason God kept me alive. I wouldn’t have made it through without One Family. You were beside me the entire time. You still are.”
Although the number of terror attacks has declined significantly since the height of the second Intifada and Israel’s construction of a security fence, One Family continues to offer services to many of the thousands of victims in recent years, as well as to families within the range of rockets fired into southern Israel from Gaza.
“One Family is an amazing organization, and it’s such a great cause,” Dobin said. “There are all these people that they’re helping.”
One Family Fund is developing a volunteer base in the United States. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Elissa Sce at 646-289-8600, ext. 202.
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