After: ALYN Heels of Love Hike, part 3

Nothing like a fresh breakfast
Fresh scrambled eggs, whole wheat bread, tea, a little granola with soy milk - so simple, so delicious.

I was debating whether to go with the "tougher" group today, on the one hand I figured physically it should be fine for me, on the other do they have things as scary as climbing Har Shlomo in wind and rain planned again for today (they didn't plan weather of course, but are the climbs similarly difficult to look at?  Later Elad enlightened me that the fear factor is often limited and very specific - for one it's going up, for another down, for another ladders....)

The decision was made partly by having a small cold and headache the day before, partly by waking up on the later side, and especially by the preference to linger over a cup of tea versus rush out for the earlier group.


Pack up and out
But not much time to linger anyway, pack up the night bags to be sent ahead for the end, fill up waters, etc.  Today I wasn't carrying my sneakers (I took them yesterday in case my new hiking boots became uncomfortable) - instead I was carrying a bag of swim clothes (a la Kosher Casual) in the unlikely event that our hike really did end at Coral Beach, and we would be an hour ahead of the other group because they have a longer route, and we'd have nothing else to do for an hour.... (No, I didn't get to go snorkeling.  Will visit Eilat again for that.)


Nachal Gishron
So we set out, and then we're at an overlook and the guide says we were exactly here yesterday.  Really?  No one can believe it.  It doesn't look exactly the same - is it the change in weather?  Have we gotten used to looking at these mountains so they don't look as high?

Unlike yesterday we take the trail below.  Going around the cliff doesn't work for a couple of participants so they walk to another area and take the group's chartered bus to wait in Eilat.

We go down, keep going down, now some rails going down, a ladder.  Then slowly we start going up again.  Through tunnels under roads.  Squeeze through a sandstone formation (head first, if your head fits through you can squeeze the rest).  Sandstone, limestone, granite, copper.... 

Hiking up an incline, and another incline (our guide warned us at the outset - "once you think you are almost there, you aren't - there's more").  We ended up by the army patrol road next to Egypt.  Walking a little more in isolation before we get driven back to civilization.

It's warm now.  Every time I drink from my hydration pack, the first few sips have been warmed from the sun.

We get to where the bus is waiting.  The signs say we are now in Nachal Shlomo.  Sitting down is a relief.  Except that the bus is hotter than outside.  I miss the outdoors already.


Wrap-up
The bus takes us to meet up with the other group, they come down from Har Tzefachot.  Har Tzefachot is a great short hike (2 hours up and back from the campgrounds above the beaches) for a group able to do something moderately strenuous - noted for the future.

We gather for a group photo, and form a circle for those who would like to share their experiences.  Some people joined because of ALYN, some people joined for the hike and learned of ALYN that way.  Most people seem to join with the ALYN special projects through word of mouth, and the mission of ALYN carves an increasingly larger place in their hearts.


Moderate and Strenuous or Easy and Moderate
Someone remarks that she thought the hikes were a choice between Easy and Moderate, and was surprised to learn that they were really Moderate or Strenuous.  (She was in the strenuous group - way to go!!)  Someone comments that they thought some of our hikes were harder than just "moderate."

Well, hiking levels are very very relative.  Earlier that day someone had a conversation about the hike we were on, that it's for "metivei lechet" but what ranking is that?  The phrase translates to "experienced hikers" so someone suggested it means somewhere between "intermediate" and "advanced."  I also have a family hiking book which have some "advanced" hikes but that's advanced for families.  Regular adventurers probably have yet another scale which gives "advanced" an even more intense meaning.


Dinner Conversations
Onward to two hours' accommodations in a hotel, long enough for a hot shower and a buffet dinner.

No speeches, no more photos (too bad - we all looked so much more ready for pictures!).

I don't remember most of what my table talked about.  Some significant appreciation of the salad bar.  Some question of whether now was time to start a diet (it was deemed irrelevant as an effort to address a specific type of pain or cramp).  A bit of talk about professions.

Then several of us found we had similar experiences when it came to the fundraising.  To join the hike, each of us (a) paid an initial fee to cover the expenses of the trip and (b) committed to raise $2,000 and above, depending upon which hike and also how well we might do at gathering sponsorships.

We each mentioned how we joined knowing we could fill in for whatever we couldn't raise, and then shared other reflections about the experience of asking others to contribute.  Someone said several friends seemed not to donate and wasn't sure if it was because the hospital was equally inclusive of Arabs and Jews.  Another said several friends didn't donate because the hospital is in Israel.  (We can't win, can we?)  Then we all said the experience made us much more eager to help other people - that when someone gave us even a relatively small contribution it was such a boost, and we came away wanting to show the same generosity towards others in other circumstances.

A few of us also said it was a nice opportunity to reach out to old connections.  When trying to fundraise, you contact whoever might be interested to know what you are up to, and possibly chip in a little something.  This definitely happened to me; I have an additional list of a few others who I wasn't ready to solicit but decided to catch up with (we can talk about ALYN next year).  Another person at the table said as a result she rekindled an old friendship.


The ALYN fundraising model
ALYN receives payments from the government health and education systems.  It's a hospital and a school.  There are also private programs (for example Sassa Setton which provides school services for inpatient kids in many hospitals in the country, and the program Shira works for in sherut leumi).  But there is more that the hospital does and provides, which are not covered.

The private fundraising for ALYN aims to cover a budget of $20 million, for specialized medical equipment, upgrades to the facilities, and more.  The halls of the hospital definitely have their share of plaques, wings named after donors, etc.

Yet almost half of the private funding comes from the ALYN Active projects - the annual bike ride (now rides, there are several biking options to choose) and on a smaller scale the hike and skydiving adventures.  Hundreds of individuals sign up for an adventure, and invite their circle of friends to join in and support the hospital.  Every contribution joins the others, and in the course of a year, together all these adventurers raise several million dollars.

So I realized what a great model this is.  Because when you visit the hospital (and I encourage it if you are ever near Har Herzl in Jerusalem) you see it's a very friendly and close-knit place.  Partly because it's small, partly because the kids who come in are often there for an extended time so there is  more time for bonding.  But also - because kids thrive best when supported by a community, and ALYN is like a community.

And when these kids go back home, better equipped for entering the "real world" - they still need the support of community.  It isn't enough that they go to physical therapy a couple of times a week, or that they have a tutor to help them practice reading out loud, or whatever.  In order to succeed in school, in friendships, eventually in careers - they need our understanding.  And when you have hundreds of people signing up for an ALYN adventure, and seeing the hospital from the inside, and then telling hundreds of their friends about the kids, their struggles, their successes, their heart - then just maybe we can do more than pay for rehabilitation in a hospital.  We can provide a community for them to come back to.

To donate, learn more about ALYN, or to contact the office for a visit, you can start here:
https://www.alynactive.org/team/team-solomon/

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Another successful Heels of Love Hike for the ALYN Children's Rehabilitation Hospital.

Hearing from Parents of ALYN

After: ALYN Heels of Love Hike, part 2