On Tuesday, United Hatzalah of Israel received a letter from a 10-year-old boy thanking them for saving the lives of people in Israel. The organization, which serves as Israel’s fully volunteer community-based EMS organization, also received a donation of 50 NIS from the young boy. According to an attached letter from the boy’s mother, the young boy, Ariel, saved up all the money he could, penny by penny, in order to arrive at the sum.
In his letter, Ariel writes, “Hello United Hatzalah, I want to say how much I love you and the speed in which you respond. I too want to become a volunteer EMS responder with your organization, but I am only 10-years-old. I have donated to you as much as I could. Hopefully, when I am older, I will become a volunteer. But I have a request. Please do not change in the meantime. Don’t change your radios, your ambucycles, your helicopters, and your defibrillators. I love you all, and thank you.”
Needless to say, the letter touched a few hearts in the organization. In fact, President and Founder of United Hatzalah, Eli Beer read the letter and was moved by Ariel’s sentiment. “This is what making a difference in the community looks like. Through our work of saving lives and responding in less than three minutes to emergencies, we have inspired Ariel to want to become a volunteer EMT. How many more Ariels are out there in communities across Israel? Each of our volunteers works in their own community and helps the people around them thereby affecting countless lives. The fact that we can inspire young people to want to take up the mantle, and even make a donation, means that we are making a positive impact on the next generation and that to me means that we are succeeding at spreading the important message of our community-based response model. Ariel, I thank you for your letter. It has touched the hearts of everyone here.”
With the permission of Ariel’s mother, the organization shared Ariel’s letter on internal WhatsApp groups with all 3,200 volunteers. Ariel’s letter has thereby touched the hearts of all of the men and women who help so many people every day and has undoubtedly inspired them to continue.