Brooklyn, NY – Kids of Courage-Operation Kiddush Hashem

Brooklyn, NY – As the Kids of Courage Continental Airlines Orlando charter arrived home at Newark this past week, the first face they saw when exiting the jet was a soft spoken ground crew supervisor named Ousman. This African- American immigrant was the gentleman who helped carry many of the campers who have no ability to walk onto the departing flight one week prior.

His laughter and gentle manner singled him out in a crowd of kindness. When the flight departed a week earlier, he specifically told the Kids of Courage staff that he will unfortunately be off the day they arrive back at Newark. When he appeared on the jet way, he told the staff that he decided to stay on an extra four hours, unpaid, to see the kids off the plane safely. When he was questioned as to why he volunteered his time, he looked up and stated- “since you guys are all volunteering your time then so could I”.

This is the level of Kiddush Hashem that the Kids of Courage group creates wherever they go. Jews and non-Jews alike helped create an army of volunteers and do gooders unprecented in previous times.

While in Orlando, the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in coordination with the Orange County Emergency Medical Services System , Orlando Health System, and Reedy Creek Fire Department(at Disney), provided cost free ambulance escort for the group the entire week. When a camper had to be hospitalized during the trip, the children’s hospital allowed the Kids of Courage medical director and co-founder, Dr. Stuart Ditchek complete access to the facilities and accepted his clinical input of the care of this medically fragile child without restriction.

When Dr. Ditchek met with the children’s hospital team, they were amazed at the size and coordination of the group. One director from the hospital stated that in over 12 years and seeing hundreds of groups come through Orlando, he never saw anything on the scale of Kids of Courage. He also stated that it is the first group that has an all volunteer, no salary policy, a unique part of the Kids of Courage program. This complete chesed approach with an all volunteer staff has triggered an enormous response in people who witness the groups work first hand.

One of the events attended by the group was the pirate dinner show in Orlando. Normally groups and families pay a fee for a dinner accompanied by a show featuring a pirate theme. The owners of the facility allowed the Kids of Courage logistics team to cater the entire group with a glatt kosher meal provided by Lasko Family Kosher Tours. Not only was the meal shipped in hot boxes from the hotel where the group was staying, but the mashgiach accompanied and stayed with the group throughout the show. This was the first time the show ever allowed a kosher caterer access to the facility. Why was this done? Ari Adlerstein, a co- founder of Kids of Courage, was able to convince the mangers of the pirate show that the children would have the time of their lives if they could enjoy a show and a meal just like all of the other guests that night. Keep in mind that while only half of the Kids of Courage campers are from frum households, all enjoy the benefits of a program that is run according to the strictest Halacha.

In Disney World, the Kiddush Hashem continued. Disney did everything possible to ensure a safe and fun visit. As the trip took place in August and the Florida heat was prohibitive, Disney arranged for Kids of Courage to have a centrally located fully air conditioned private hall for the entire day. This room became their base of operations while in the Magic kingdom. The group ate lunch in this room and allowed the campers to cool off there throughout the day. Disney even arranged for their characters to be in the room throughout the day for photo opportunities with the kids. When a non-Jewish child from a group called Give Kids the World showed up to cool off, she was welcomed by the Kids of Courage group with a thunderous cheer and applause. Although the room was booked strictly for the Kids of Courage group, the young lady and her family was greeted as if she was one of the group. Her mother approached one of the Kids of Courage staff with tears in her eyes to thank them for the warm reception. When the Disney staff came to ask Dr. Ditchek whether the Kids of Courage group was consenting of having the young lady join them for a while, she was welcomed openly and warmly. Dr. Ditchek pointed out that while the group of campers was Jewish, they were accustomed to meeting children from different backgrounds as they were all frequent visitors to hospitals. Helping a child from a different background is part and parcel to the Kids of Courage staff and camper group. Kiddush Hashem is what Kids of Courage promotes in all forums in all settings.

One day the group visited Nickelodeon Hotel for a day of water park fun, arcades and shows. Ari Dobkin, Kids of Courage program director arranged for the group to have the entire park for five hours. The girls had the water park to themselves first while the boys spent hours in the arcade and shows. After two hours, they swapped places and the boys had their turn at a separate swimming water park experience. The hotel coordinated the safe use of the slides and water park with the Kids of Courage medical staff even providing gender appropriate lifeguard staff. At the end of the sessions, the entire group was treated to a hot glatt kosher lunch provided by the Lasko Caterers. The Nickelodeon management had never been able to arrange this unique program for any other group. They left the experience in awe of the children and staff of Kids of Courage.

Howie Kafka, co-founder and chief paramedic of Kids of Courage made all hotel arrangements at the International Plaza Resort and Spa. He was able to convince the hotel of the value of allowing our group unique access and arrangements for very affordable rates in a beautiful luxury setting. He was even able to arrange an entire third of the hotel to be used exclusively by the Kids of Courage group. This including exclusive access to one of the three hotel pools that he arranged for a complete tent covering with side walls for separate swimming. When dealing with the hotel, Mr. Kafka identified three key group managers that all took personal interest in the group. One was a religious Christian named Farrah Elliot who was raised in a home where mixed swimming was never allowed. Farrah was so enthralled with the group that she joined them at the Sunday Tampa Bay Rays baseball game on her day off. Another hotel manager, Larry Goldman, a Jewish Floridian with minimal religious background helped the group complete a Shabbos eruv. Mr. Goldman also gave a beautiful private donation to the group and offered a one week hotel stay and park entries to be used in for a future Kids of Courage raffle. The third was Sheila Maloy who made sure that all rooms were modified to accommodate the large numbers of oxygen concentrators, ventilators, oxygen tanks, feeding pumps, commodes and other necessities. The hotel even helped organize a room which functioned as an infirmary for the group.

Mr. Kafka, a well known Hatzollah volunteer was critical in arranging the very difficult logistical support and the entire mobile infirmary for the group.

On Erev Shabbos, the Kids of Courage girls were treated to a spa afternoon which included beautiful manicures and facials. The spa manager, Jessica Emard, had to bring in additional staff to accommodate over 40 girls in two hours. Later in the day when Mr. Kafka showed up to settle the bill, already discounted, he was shocked to discover that the spa manager had paid it in full from her own pocket. She later joined the Kids of Courage group for a farewell dinner and told the staff that she was inspired by the dedication of the group and the volunteerism that she witnessed.

All of these accommodations and special arrangements were possible due to the Kiddush Hashem created by Kids of Courage. When chesed is done properly, it spreads quickly. Kids of Courage has created a critical program in a time when chesed and Kiddush Hashem must come together.

For information about Kids of Courage visit www.kidsoc.org.