Highlighting one of Israel’s many humanitarian and social justice initiatives, CAMERA-supported group Bruins for Israel hosted its annual Achy Breaky Heart fundraising event on February 15th in conjunction with UCLA GlobeMed. Israel’s huge heart was exposed to a wide variety of students, with over 200 people attended the philanthropic evening.
Bruins for Israel chose to showcase the work of Save A Child’s Heart (SACH), an organization that provides lifesaving heart surgeries in Israel for children from around the world – including the West Bank and Gaza. UCLA GlobeMed chose to fundraise for an organization that increases water accessibility in multiple developing countries. To achieve their goal of raising a significant amount of money for the two charities, in addition to charging for entrance and tickets for food, the event included a “date auction,” where students were bid on. The winner collected a date as their prize!
Adding a face to the work of the organization, the younger brother of a UCLA student whose heart was operated on by the SACH medical team attended the event. Bruins for Israel was very fortunate to hear him and his family speak. The words of the boy and his family were the cornerstone of the event.
In addition to co-hosting the event with UCLA GlobeMed, Greek life on campus worked with Bruins for Israel to encourage attendance by giving SOE (Standard of Excellence) points to those who participated in the event. Performances by multiple A Capella groups, in addition to the presence of the student organizations, meant that even more coalitions could be built between the various groups.
Not only did hundreds of students gain a higher understanding of Israel’s humanitarian efforts, many of these students have since attended additional Bruins for Israel events, undoubtedly furthering their understanding of what Israel is all about.
