SAHI - Special Hessed Unit on Righteous Crowd this week!
SAHI - Special Hessed Unit
Enlisting at-risk Israeli youth to help those in need
As we usher in Yom Kippur, we read the words, "repentance, prayer and righteous acts remove the evil decree." At Righteous Crowd, we are of course always inspired by righteous acts. This week's organization is particularly meaningful now as it helps others perform righteous acts. SAHI, considered one of Israel’s most promising social enterprises engages with more than 1,000 at-risk youth in community volunteering, providing weekly assistance to over 5,000 families and individuals in need.
This month SAHI received the 2020 Presidential Award for Volunteerism from Israel's President Rivlin.
Please read our interview below with Co-Founder/CEO, Avraham Hayon.
What is the mission of your organization?
Giving as a way of life--transforming at-risk youth into agents of positive change that assist others in need, while positively changing their own lives.
Why did you decide to start SAHI?
We're a grassroots organization founded in 2009. Oded, my co-founder, and I had an idea that doing for others positively impacts the giver as much as the receiver. We started up a pilot with seven teenagers in a neighborhood in Israel's southern periphery and the effect on their lives was so huge, that we just kept going. Currently, we have about 1,000 active teenagers in SAHI.
What has your organization's response been to COVID-19?
During the Corona crisis, based on our capability and responsiveness, we responded in real-time to the needs on the ground, accomplishing the following:
Set-up several ad-hoc community assistance centers
Distributed 20,000 food packages to people in need throughout Israel’s periphery
Approached by several municipalities to serve as an emergency response team--distributing prepared meals, locating elderly people who were out of reach for check-ups and more
Distributed medicine and groceries to elderly people and people with disabilities
Conducted visits and social enrichment at nursing homes
How would you connect SAHI to a Jewish value?
The hard to translate Jewish word of hessed (compassion) is at the core of SAHI. Acts of benevolence that are done without expecting anything in return. Most of SAHI's activities are מתן בסתר - giving in secret. The receiver never knows who it was that saw their need and decided not to look away. The youth are empowered by simply giving to others without expecting any recognition or gratitude.
What’s a story about SAHI that is meaningful to you?
Our youth keep surprising us by initiating and executing acts of hessed, as part of their nature without a second thought. They will leave a clean classroom because they truly see the elderly cleaner that comes in, they will offer an ill mother free babysitting services, they will get a coat for a neighborhood kid that can't afford it. Every day--thousands of times a year.
Please read this The Jerusalem Post piece regarding the Presidential Award for Volunteerism.
Here is also an inspiring 5 minute video about SAHI.
To learn even more about SAHI, click here.