Last week, Carmel participated in a social action project to benefit a non-profit organization in Israel called Heartbeat. Heartbeat strives to bring together Palestinian and Israeli children through the arts. One of the Carmel staff members, Hannah Ticho, spent the last year in Israel and met some representatives of Heartbeat. She was very moved by the organization and their mission. Hannah, with help from fellow staff members, taught our campers about Heartbeat and their role in the larger Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
Our Carmel campers, who spent a bit of time learning about Heartbeat and it’s mission, were eager to help out. In the spirit of Heartbeat’s work, the kids broke into small groups and created displays of art—dances, songs, posters, skits, gymnastic routines, etc. On the night of the camp play, our campers lined the road between the chadar ochel and the beit, holding or performing their displays of art, and acted as a sort of pre show. Campers and counselors sold pre-show refreshments to our campers and staff, and explained about Heartbeat.
Through the generosity of faculty and staff, Carmel raised over three hundred dollars to benefit the charity. The night was fabulous, the kids had a blast performing, and everyone learned something new about this important cause. Carmel went to bed happy, helpful, healthy, and early!
What a wonderful way to learn that you can have fun and help others at the same time.