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Thanks Rhea and Beit Issie Shapiro! I had the
opportunity to devote my time to a goal that
is absolutely priceless |
Ziv Azmanov
My name is Ziv, a high tech entrepreneur and father of Rhea, a
first grader at Beit IssieShapirosSpecial EducationSchool.When
Rheawas bornwith a rarebraindefect, itwas thefirst time I was
exposed topeoplewithdisabilities. Consequently, I decided to
leave my position as CEO of a hi-tech company and dedicate
my time to my daughter and to social entrepreneurship. I was
delighted to see that thehi-techentrepreneurial communitywas
very encouraging, allowingpeople to implement their ideas. On
the other hand, I found the field of social entrepreneurship to
be a vast wasteland. This enormous gapmademe both angry
and disappointed.
I decided to seek away tochange this grimreality andcreate an
environment that encourages social business entrepreneurship.
The first significant step was my participation in the amazing
project, A3i, the first Assistive Technology Accelerator of its
kind run by Beit Issie Shapiro. It was designed to encourage
entrepreneurship in order to improve the quality of life of
people with disabilities. I am very proud to take part in this
project. Thanks to Rhea and Beit Issie Shapiro, I was given the
opportunity todedicatemy time to a goal of the highest order.
I receive satisfaction fromknowing that I amdoing something
meaningful with my life, making even the smallest difference
in the lives of others.
Our choice was to look at what can be done
to improve our lives and the lives of millions
of people
|
Yoav Gaon
I have always worked in the field of retail marketing. When
our Erez was born, I entered the challenging world of families
with children with disabilities. I was introduced to the great
difficultyandenormousneed toeasilyfindandpurchaseassistive
products, togain inspiration and to search for ideas for activities
we could do with Erez together as a happy family. Since I did
not find anything to meet this need, we decided to establish
YOOOCAN, a startup that features content about products,
services and innovation for familieswithchildrenwithdisabilities
from around the world.
We collaboratewithBeit IssieShapiroas our content consultant
and it serves as aplatformfor the saleof the amazingproducts.
We chose to look at how to improve our lives and the lives of
millions of peoplewithdisabilities and their familiesworldwide.
Guy's disability and learning to handle it has
revealed a whole new world that I am only
discovering now |
Eran Tamir
For me, Beit Issie Shapiro is a second home. It is a wonder of
naturewithpeopleworkingout of a true senseofmission. Guy’s
disability andourmanner of copingwith it has openedmeup to
aworld I never encountered.When the staffat Beit IssieShapira
joined forces with the TOM - Tikkun OlamMakers, it was clear
tome that theywould achieve amazing results for peoplewith
different abilities. These are twoorganizationswhose focus is on
doing good and creating solutions for people with disabilities.
When the idea of a foldable standing device for Guy and other
children was raised, Guy and I went together to try it out and
to help with the development process. It was an amazing and
excitingexperience for us. Participation in the TOMprojectwas
verymeaningful. I was exposed tobrilliant solutions for people
with disabilities, and I met peoplewho have becomemy good
friends. On a personal level, I have gained a great deal from
people with disabilities and from the ability to help others in a
way that hasmadememore sensitive tomy surroundings and
to other people and their needs.
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Circles - Autumn 2016