Chanukah with Yahalom NY: Yahalom Kids and Their Families Come Together to Celebrate

Children with special needs often have trouble attending and enjoying parties, Chanukah or otherwise, because of sensory overload, unsuited entertainment, and unaccepting environments. And their families – parents, brothers, and sisters – must choose to go to a party without them or not attend the parties themselves.

This Chanukah, Yahalom NY held two parties, in Monsey and Five Towns, for children with special needs and their entire families, attended by over 1,000 guests from Brooklyn, Staten Island, Queens, Monroe, Monsey, and Five Towns.

The parties themselves included a buffet and donuts in honor of Chanukah, and also included entertainment of magic shows, a clown, and the Wacky Chad Stunt Show.

Yahalom’s focus was on making the party meet the needs of the attendees, and to that end, each family was offered, if they needed, a volunteer to help attend to their child with special needs during the party. Yahalom thanks the amazing volunteers from Bais Yaakov of Monsey, Peer Bais Yaakov, TAG, and BBY, and volunteer coordinators Shoshana Frishman and Bella Rubin, for helping orchestrate this magnificent service.

Families with children with special needs sometimes have trouble getting their entire family in one place at the same time to be able to get family portraits. Yahalom NY arranged for photographer Moshe Gershbaum of Brilliant Photography to take family portraits which were later shared with the families.

A parent from Monsey told us, “Yesterday was our first Yahalom event. I must thank you from the bottom of my heart. I made a new friend, and learned we are in very similar situations! I was struggling immensely and am in a very dark place for a while now, but she boosted me with so much strength and chizuk!”

Another parent, from Five Towns, said, “My family really enjoyed the Chanukah event tonight. It was so thoughtful and appreciated to have a more quiet and less stimulating room for the kids to do crafts. It made all the difference tonight! The staff of smiling volunteers that greeted us and checked in with us during the night made us feel so welcome.”

Yahalom helps parents of special needs children obtain the appropriate resources by guiding, educating and empowering parents to ensure they have the help and support they need. Yahalom is there for our parents at all times, holding their hands, guiding them in whatever areas they need. Whether it’s government programs, chesed organizations, or emotional support, Yahalom is there to ease the way. Find out more about Yahalom, and sign up for email updates, at https://agudah.org/yahalom/.