ARNOLD GERSON CHOSEN AS
NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF

AMERICAN FRIENDS OF MAGEN DAVID ADOM

NEW YORK (August 17, 2010) -- American Friends of Magen David Adom takes pleasure in announcing that Arnold Gerson has been selected as its new Chief Executive Officer.  Mr. Gerson brings to AFMDA a wealth of experience in the field of Jewish philanthropy and will take office in October, 2010.

A native of Durban, South Africa, Mr. Gerson earned a B.A. degree in Psychology, English and Jewish studies from Natal University in South Africa.  He has also lived in Israel where he received his Master’s degree in Social and Industrial Psychology from Bar-Ilan University.  He received further education in the post-Master’s program at Columbia University in New York at their Institute for Not-for-Profit Management.

For the past five years, Mr. Gerson has served as Executive Vice President of AMIT where he developed a five year strategic plan and implemented new initiatives in development, marketing, communications, personnel management and accounting.  Under his leadership, AMIT has benefited from heightened awareness and visibility, a strong management team, and dramatic improvements in fundraising and governance.

Prior to his service with AMIT, Arnold Gerson served in a variety of senior staff positions with the UJA-Federation of New York for thirteen years.  In his most recent role, he was the Executive Director for the Annual Campaign, responsible for developing the strategic direction of this major Jewish fundraising enterprise, meeting with donors, working with volunteers and supervising a staff of more than one hundred individuals.

In announcing the selection of Mr. Gerson, Lewis Krinsky, AFMDA National Chairman remarked that “Arnold brings to AFMDA skill sets which will be enormously valuable to our organization.  His experiences with AMIT and UJA-Federation of New York will serve us very well as we embark upon major new goals in support of our beneficiary, Magen David Adom in Israel.  He has achieved noteworthy success in taking AMIT to new levels of achievement in support of its mission to bring improved education and educational opportunities to thousands of students in Israel.  He has adroitly brought new standards of leadership and professionalism and met the challenges of every role he has assumed throughout his distinguished career as a non-profit professional.   AFMDA is indeed thrilled to welcome Arnold Gerson as we build on our seventy year record of service to the people of Israel through our unparalleled and exclusive support of Magen David Adom in Israel.”

ASHital and the second came at the entrance to the Emergency Room of Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot. The mother and twin girls are well.

The Rudes Family dedicated the ambulance at the St. Andrews Country Club in Boca Raton on March 4, 2010 in memory of Pearl Rudes.

ASHDOD (May 31, 2010) - Sapir Nino, 34, of Ashdod, gave birth to twin girls on May 31.  The first was born in an MDA ambulance which was called for by her older children to take her to hospital and the second came at the entrance to the Emergency Room of Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot.

"I woke up in the morning with an uncomfortable feeling," recalled Nino. "My 13 year-old daughter and my 10 year-old son called an ambulance.  The paramedic who came told me that my contractions had begun and quickly drove in the direction of Kaplan Hospital, where I wanted to give birth.  In the middle of the journey they realized that the birth had begun and they transferred me to a MICU (Mobile Intensive Care Unit).  The paramedic, Ravit Keren, began the delivery and suddenly we heard crying.  At this point everything stopped and we continued our journey to the Hospital with one baby girl who weighed 2.3kg at birth."

At the entrance to Kaplan Hospital a medical team was already waiting for us and they ran to the ambulance to continue the delivery.  The midwife, Renate, entered the ambulance and delivered the second baby with great sensitivity and devotion and my second daughter was born weighing 1.7kg."

Renate Sarel, a senior midwife in Kaplan, related that she received a call from MDA that one baby had already been born and that the second was on the way.  "I immediately went out of the department to the entrance of the hospital and went into the ambulance.  One baby was in the arms of the paramedic and the second baby I delivered in the ambulance.  The mother was calm and felt well.  By the way, this is the first time, after hundreds of deliveries, that I have delivered a baby in an ambulance" she pointed out emotionally.

"We checked the babies and saw that they were in good condition and were healthy.  Then we transferred one baby to the nursery and the second one to the premature baby unit.

Now the mother and babies are wonderful and perfectly healthy." 

The happy mother sums up: "I feel completely safe here.  They immediately wrapped the babies up warmly and cleaned them up.  We are receiving devoted and kind care from the medical teams.  The two babies were born ten minutes apart in time and ten kilometers in distance."

JERUSALEM THEN

JERUSALEM MAY 2010

JERUSALEM (April 27, 2010) - Work is continuing to move forward on the rebuilding of the MDA Jerusalem Station, which will be renamed the "William H. Bloomberg MDA Jerusalem Station."  At the same time, AFMDA has embarked on the "70 For 70" Campaign

HOLON NOW

HOLON FUTURE

JERUSALEM (May 27, 2010) - Work is continuing to move forward on the rebuilding of the MDA Jerusalem Station, which will be renamed the "William H. Bloomberg MDA Jerusalem Station."  At the same time, AFMDA has embarked on the "70 For 70" Campaign which is raising funds for a variety of high tech projects, providing 75 new emergency vehicles and building new facilities, including new MDA Holon Emergency Medical Stations in Lod and Mitzpe Ramon.

American Friends of Magen David Adom recently completed the total renovation of the Joseph and Phyllis Gurwin Palm Beach Friends MDA Nahariya Emergency Medical Station and also finished the substation in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Ze’ev, joining Afula, Rehovot, Beit She’an, Haifa, Beer Sheva, Dimona, Afula, Natseret Ilit and Kiryat Gat as projects delivered to MDA over the last five years.  AFMDA has also agreed toprovide supplies, equipment and upgraded computerization for the MDA National Blood Services Center and fund a wide range of high tech communications systems – including the new “Motobridge” system – and computer programs and packages for Magen David Adom.

Working 24/7 for the people of Israel, 800 MDA ambulances and other vehicles travel 9.775 million operational miles in an average year.