It is no small accomplishment to have built a community so large, so successful, and so grounded in hesed. At the forefront of that accomplishment are the countless helping hands and innumerable good deeds performed by Sephardic Bikur Holim (SBH), the community institution that has helped thousands to give and receive. Everyone had a reason to run, said a community member of the recent Disney marathon weekend, but SBH provided us all with a reason to care.
A weekend spent in Orlando, Florida, was more than just a vacation getaway. The Lake Eve Resort saw close to 500 community members arrive on a Thursday night, prepared to run 13.1 miles through the Disney parks. However, unlike most half-marathon participants, this group had arrived for two causes. They were running for their friends, neighbors, and countless silent beneficiaries; they were running for the clients of SBH. It was additionally required of each runner to raise between $1,800 and $3,600. With the tireless work of the Team SBH Corporate Sponsors committee, many prestigious businesses became corporate sponsors of Team SBH. However, the most astounding figures are numbers 15 through 25, the ages of the youngest group of fundraisers SBH has ever had.
The entire marathon weekend was coordinated, run, and enjoyed by the youth leadership of the community. Needless to say, tomorrows leaders have already accomplished an inconceivable feat. Give all the credit to the kids, said SBH Director of Development Charles Anteby, for working as hard as they did, and for being as dedicated as they are.
The dedication of each and every marathon participant is what made the weekend into a reality. One runner, commented a Team SBH captain, sold dozens of cupcakes to raise nearly $2,000. Surely, the dedication and commitment necessary for such a thing is not to be found in the average person. Team SBH was made up of some of the best and brightest that the community has to offer.
A more daunting task than raising the funds necessary to participate lay ahead for many marathon goers: the prospect of running over 13 miles to cross the finish line in Orlando. We all made a commitment together, said runner Lottie Bildirici, a high school senior. People who never ran a block before suddenly began to run five to ten miles a week. This was no small deal.
As any inexperienced runner will relate, the support of trainers and marathon veterans were vital to achieving their goals. With unstoppable weekly e-mails and frequent meetings at the SBH building, runners were encouraged, supported, and pushed to keep moving forward. Separated into groups, every 15 runners had a personal trainer and a captain, to propel and motivate them.
It was not uncommon, from as early as November, to see groups of Team SBH members running up and down Ocean Parkway with cheerful trainers at their head. The trainers were phenomenal, commented an anonymous rookie runner. No one else could have gotten me past my grandmothers Ocean Parkway house without stopping for food.
After training, fundraising, and resisting grandmas house at all costs, Team SBH arrived in Orlando, Florida, on February 23rd for the home stretch. The Disney Princess Half-Marathon was just a few days away. Friends hurriedly unpacked and prepared for a weekend of unparalleled excitement and a race day to remember.
Friday went by in a whirlwind of Magic Kingdom attractions and roller coaster rides at Universal Studios. Afterwards, a tired but jubilant team arrived back at the hotel for a unique Shabbat. With special thanks to Kings Highway Glatt and Adelicacies, Team SBH enjoyed seemingly endless delicious meals. Inspirational speeches and an environment of anticipation and togetherness made for a fantastic experience.
Shabbat afternoon was spent in leisure around the hotel, resembling the absolute calm before a storm. A Saturday night pep rally, funny video, and carb-filled pasta party was exactly the preparation needed to get everyone psyched for a 13.1 mile run. Personal accounts of life lived with cancer and an emotional testament of how SBH had kept a family from ruin further solidified the resolve many already felt. The atmosphere was one of excitement and anticipation; the runners were psychologically ready to wake up at 3:15 the following morning to begin the race.
As it turns out, a few hours before dawn is the perfect time to wake over 400 Syrian community members. On the morning of the marathon, eight buses filled with over 400 people pulled out of the parking lot on time, commented Merle Kassab, a Team SBH coordinator. At 4:08 am, we had already achieved the impossible. In unison, the runners headed for the starting line, frantically consuming pre-packaged breakfasts of carbohydrates and protein. Caught in what seemed like a migration of Disney clad diehards, the tell tale blue shirts of Sephardic Bikur Holim made their way into separate corrals, waiting to get going, even before the first rays of sunshine pierced a still star-lit sky.
Adventurous and exciting, the moments before the starting gun could not have been more Disney-esque. A sudden explosion of colorful fireworks from the wand of a fairy godmother set the runners off. Out of the overall 20,000 runners, Team SBH was the single largest group participating in the Disney Princess Half-Marathon.
Seeing the blue shirts alongside me as I ran became the ultimate motivation, said Team SBH coordinator Joey Sasson, they simply just kept you going. Lining the track were countless SBH supporters, some who had painted themselves blue with bold SBH letters, cheering enthusiastically as friends and family whizzed by. The 13th and final mile through Disneys Epcot resort showed blue shirts still running at high speed. A Team SBH trainer, Alex Dweck, was the first of Team SBH to cross the finish line, with an astounding time of one hour and twenty-seven minutes. As for the somewhat slower paced participants, three hours of running ended in triumphant accomplishment.
Over and over again, excited cries of We did it, we actually did it, rang through the air. As a refreshing rainfall began to drench the Disney parks, runners and spectators alike boarded the buses with undaunted enthusiasm and an unimaginable sense of achievement.
This incredible feeling, this incredible day, was completely coordinated by our kids, runner Sarah Terzi remarked. It was the best thing Ive ever participated in, and I owe it all to them. The day was topped off with a victory barbecue and a closing video of the entire marathon experience, as well as exhausted grins of success.
When planes touched down in several New York airports Monday morning, most could not believe that the journey had come to an end. It isnt over, said an SBH volunteer, this is just the beginning of many new volunteers, fresh ideas, and innovative projects to look forward to.
It is clear that with this next generation of leaders, it will be easy for families, friends, and neighbors to find a helping hand in the future of Sephardic Bikur Holim.
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Sally Mizrahi is a community member, a student at Hunter College and was one of the runners in the marathon.
