American Friends of Magen David Adom held a gala event on Nov. 9 that featured an array of interesting speakers while honoring those who give Israeli first responders one of their biggest tools for saving lives: ambulances.
The dinner in Center City honored Bruce and Sue Epstein of Margate City, New Jersey, for donating the money to purchase an ambulance. For Sue, it was about honoring her in-laws who had recently passed away. For Bruce, it was a phone call from an old friend asking for help. This led him to approach his friends to urge them to participate. “I called all my friends, and I twisted their arm, which I really didn’t have to, because … they were all very generous,” he told Philadelphia Jewish Exponent.
Dinner attendees expressed the hope that MDA would receive further such donations. Raphael and Noa Nidam, whose daughter is serving in the Israel Defense Forces, said that at the last MDA fundraiser they attended, their community donated two ambulances. “I hope this time [it] is going to be two more,” Raphael said.
Steve Katz had previously donated an ambulance in memory of his son. “We visited the [MDA] facility in Israel a couple months ago, and I was blown away by it,” he said.
Read more at the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent>>
