We always say that the people we work with here are angels. This time we just started up a project with a new breed: An Angel Superhero.
Her name is Sharon Shapiro, and she is the driving force behind a deeply inspiring and brilliant organization called Yad HaChazakah- The Jewish Disability Empowerment Center, Inc. (Hebrew for “The Strong Hand”). Sharon has an energy about her that is undeniably electric. Her personal story is immensely powerful, and she speaks with pride about her journey as a young girl with Cerebral Palsy becoming a woman who found her roots and framework for truth. Her devotion, wit and charm are mesmerizing.
Yad HaChazakah is an inside-out, ground-up organization, which involves people with disabilities of all kinds. Governed and operated according to Orthodox precepts, Yad HaChazakah is a resource and peer support center for primarily Jews with disabilities or health conditions who want to improve their lives and to actively participate in their communities. Yad is now increasing its efforts to build supportive communities and promote access to synagogues, yeshivas, events, and commercial establishments in traditional Jewish enclaves. Yad also want Jews who are not yet affiliated with their traditional roots to know that they can work with them to claim their places in traditional Jewish communities.
Sharon’s mission, through Yad, is to change the perception and reality of full participation of people with disabilities into Jewish communities with a particular focus on Orthodox communities. Sharon has put herself on a hugely challenging course: Shifting a paradigm. The idea that the able-bodied community necessarily needs to reach down to help those with disabilities or health conditions rise up is not sound to her. On the contrary, Sharon believes that individuals with disabilities or ongoing conditions, themselves, have the ability to support and teach each other and to transform a community at large.
If you know anything about Empax, you know how many parallels exist within this new partnership. We are engaged on a deep, personal level with Sharon and Yad, and are honored to be of service to her and her organization. Our task? Creating a new identity for the organization that truthfully and strongly communicates its activities and aspirations. We will craft an identity that begins from Sharon’s story, growing to the Yad story, incorporating service and advocacy for all the individuals Yad serves. With visuals, text and relevant technology, we will create a new conceptual environment in which Yad can operate to maximum effect, helping the organization attract new supporters, donors and members.
So check out Yad HaChazakah and Sharon now. Get yourself familiar with their work, and how they are communicating it. And then stay tuned. You’ll hear from us again when our work with Yad is complete. We’d love to hear from you about how the transformation feels from your own vantage point.
Now go out and meet Sharon Shapiro, angel superhero!
Image Credit: donbuciak