Branch Manager Spotlight: Modi'in's Eli Rosenberg

When Eli Rosenberg set up Yad Sarah's Modi'in branch in a small caravan over 20 years ago, the city was just a year old. But he knew that the city would grow and people would need Yad Sarah's services – and he was right.

When you visit, you are likely to find Eli there. He says that the branch is his second home, and he spends 5-6 hours there daily. Now in his early 70s and the married father of four children, he is proud that the center serves all the inhabitants of the area, including students at a local school for children with special needs.Eli tells of one student who endured repeated falls due to epileptic seizures.Yad Sarah created a special brace to protect his body. The branch was also able to build a special walker for a woman with paralysis, the 17-year-old grandchild of one of the volunteers, enabling her to go to school.

As the city has developed, so has the branch. Together with the support of Yad Sarah's founder Reb Uri Lupolianski, Modi'in's former mayor Moshe Schechter, and the Susser Family Trust, the Century21 Foundation, Ruth and Milton Kolb, and the Estate of Gershona and Louis Maden, our philanthropic partners in the USA, the branch is able to flourish in a new 14,000 square foot building, now staffed by 130 active volunteers helping to ensure Modi'in and its vicinity are served by a range of Yad Sarah's vital programs and services.

Knowing that people come to the branch for help with a health crisis, the volunteers go the extra mile to help reduce stress.Eli says that the branch works to maintain an attractive and comfortable atmosphere. Visitors enter through an outdoor garden area to facilities that are attractive and homey, including an art therapy unit with professional equipment. When someone arrives, an occupational therapist staffing the Exhibition Center greets them and offers advice. Visitors are directed to the extensive Lending Center, and in the event a family chooses to purchase an item, they are helped to select an item at slightly above cost from YASAM.The tables in the lending department waiting area are covered with white tablecloths and decorated with flowers to help people feel welcome.

Eli and the branch volunteers work to provide all the necessary equipment to make it possible for people to convalesce at home, and offer information on other Yad Sarah services that may benefit the individual or family. The branch is busy, open nine hours each day, and there are plans to extend the hours to serve the community. Of course, the building is fully wheelchair accessible.