ALYNformation

“...Wheels of Love is a must. It’s the best ride you’ll ever do.”

In this issue 

Rehabilitation That Sees the Whole Person

Jeff Blye has been riding ALYN Hospital’s annual bike ride, Wheels of Love, for nearly two decades. For Jeff, this is much more than a cycling challenge. It is an opportunity to make a tangible difference in the lives of disabled children—and to witness that difference firsthand.

In this issue 

Just over two weeks after beginning my role as Executive Director of American Friends of ALYN Hospital, I boarded a plane to Israel with my family. The trip had been planned long before I accepted this position, but one stop quickly became the centerpiece of our visit: ALYN Hospital.

As Jordan learned more about ALYN’s innovative approach to pediatric rehabilitation and its commitment to serving children from every background, he saw a meaningful connection between ALYN’s work, his family’s legacy, and his own path toward becoming a physician.

Summer has a way of bringing back childhood memories. Riding bikes until the streetlights came on. Running through sprinklers. Jumping into the pool. Building sandcastles at the beach. Climbing playgrounds, chasing friends through the park, and heading off to summer camp with your best friends and a load of mosquito bites.

In this issue 

American Friends of ALYN Hospital recently partnered with Nice Jewish Surfers for a Shabbat dinner and after-party in Los Angeles, bringing together a strong, engaged community of young professionals. 

Grants are essential for American Friends of ALYN Hospital to provide rehabilitation care for children with physical disabilities.

In my first two weeks as the new Executive Director of American Friends of ALYN Hospital, I have already had the privilege of speaking with many of our longtime supporters. Each conversation has offered me a glimpse into a remarkable community of people who hold ALYN close to their hearts.

In this issue 

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Growing ALYN’s Reach Through Social Media

There is a moment each year in the Jewish calendar that invites us to pause — not simply to remember, but to receive again. Shavuot, the holiday marking the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. The Torah provides a framework, renewed in every generation. A guide for how we are called to live, how we are called to care for one another, and how we are called to show up, especially for the most vulnerable among us. As I write this, my final message to you as Executive Director of American Friends of ALYN Hospital, it is that spirit that moves through me most powerfully. What I have witnessed over these past three years is a community that lives that framework. Not in the abstract, but in the most concrete and beautiful ways imaginable. On October 7, 2023, the world changed. And in the days and weeks that followed, I watched ALYN Hospital do something extraordinary. While the entire region reeled in grief and shock, the staff at ALYN — doctors, therapists, nurses, administrators — never faltered. Children with complex medical needs do not pause for crisis. Their bodies, their therapies, their progress — all of it continued to demand the same level of precision, compassion, and dedication. And ALYN delivered. What moved me equally was what happened here, in America. People came together and rallied around children they had never met, in a country thousands of miles away. That is the Torah in action. That is the principle that every human life carries infinite worth, and that we are each responsible for one another. I have carried that moment with me ever since. At its heart, ALYN Hospital is not simply a medical institution. It is a place where the values we hold most dear are given life every single day. Each child who arrives is received as a whole person. Each family is embraced as a partner. The work is painstaking, the progress can be slow, yet the devotion never wavers. This, too, is the spirit of Shavuot: the understanding that the framework we were given is not meant to be stored on a shelf. It is meant to be lived — in the way we structure our institutions, in the way we treat a child who cannot speak for himself, in the way we stand beside a frightened/exhausted parent who needs to know they are not alone. ALYN embodies that. Every single day. As I step away from this role, I am full of gratitude for having had the privilege of serving this mission. And I am full of admiration for the families and supporters who make this work possible. My wish is that American Friends of ALYN Hospital will continue to grow in reach and recognition — bringing this story to communities who have not yet heard it, and inspiring new champions to stand alongside those who already have. There are still children waiting, working, and hoping, and the support that flows from this community makes an extraordinary difference in their lives. May ALYN’s name become more widely known, and may the children at the heart of this mission feel that a community across the world believes in them. It has been an honor.

In this issue