Shaare Zedek Matched Giving Day
On the morning of Sunday the 29th of July volunteers poured in to the office ready to make calls, get donations, and have a good time. Everyone was ecstatic to be helping the Australian Friends of Shaare Zedek fundraise on their first annual Shabbat Nachamu matched giving day.
This year’s “Our Genes” campaign aimed to raise $250,000 to pay for a new genetic sequencer at Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem, Israel. Calling on the Australian Jewish community, and with the help of generous matchers who multiplied each donation, the matched giving day was a huge success, having raised over $375,000!
It was absolutely heart-warming to see the kindness and generosity displayed by so many people in the community, some donating upwards of $1,000, and even a few anonymous donors who contributed over $15,000 to this amazing cause.
Thanks to the efforts of the volunteers, and the donations from the community, Shaare Zedek hospital will be able to do further research with the state of the art genetic sequencer and help fight all sorts of diseases. The new genetic sequencer will lead to:
- Healthy babies free of a genetic disease even when both parents are carriers.
- Cancer treatment that is targeted and with a far higher success rate.
- Patients with a personalised analysis of their disease and with the best treatment and prevention plan tailored to their individual genetic profile.
- A greater and more profound understanding of genetic diseases to which the Jewish community worldwide is predisposed.
A mycause Matched Giving Campaign, which sees all donations multiplied by matchers over a 24-hour period, helps charities get the donations they desperately need and encourages people to donate. Matched Giving Campaigns not only help charities achieve their donation goals, but pass them by a landslide, so they can do so much more than they anticipated for the community.