Shulamit Center name plaque is unveiled honoring Shulamit Gildner.
Pamela Azaria
International Resources Director
We recently held a name dedication ceremony of the Shulamit early childhood rehabilitative daycare center in Ashkelon. The center was named after our Board Chairperson, Shulamit Gildner, who generously supported the center’s establishment. Ms. Gildner’s family from Israel and the United States were on-hand for this special occasion as well as members of Chimes Israel’s executive management team. Chimes CEO, Jorge Zimmerman spoke about Ms. Gildner’s unwavering commitment to our organization since its inception in 1991. Ms. Gildner also spoke about the honor and the importance of Chimes Israel for those with special needs.
“I am very excited about this very status of seeing my name on such a special and important building,” said Ms. Gildner. “I am honored to be associated with the personal advancement of infants and toddlers with disabilities. I hope this center will continue to act as a professional beacon and a warm home for service recipients and their families for many years.”
Despite being a major target of Gaza rocket fire, Ashkelon is one of the fastest growing cities in Israel. Chimes Israel has been hastily expanding its daycare and rehabilitative programs for children ages six month to three years to meet Ashkelon’s ever-increasing demand to care for children with autism, developmental delays, genetic syndromes, and other disabilities. The Shulamit center consists of two repurposed residential homes that serve as daycares for children ages six months to three years. One is for young children with a variety of developmental delays, genetic syndromes and other disabilities, while the other, which just opened in March 2021, focuses on children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The other two daycare homes are part of the Shaked center, which also helps preschool children with a range of disabilities.
The four repurposed homes are stopgap solutions for now to meet the city’s immediate needs until we raise enough funds to build the state-of-the-art Chimes Israel Martin J. Waldbaum Rehabilitative Daycare Center for preschool children with disabilities (see Waldbaum Center Video). In addition to being a large, modern facility with new equipment, the Waldbaum Center will be fortified against rocket fire. During times of conflict, the children will be able to continue their treatment on-site and no longer have to endure the loss of therapeutical progress and trauma associated with staying home and rushing to a shelter within 15 seconds of a siren. If you would like to learn more or contribute to the building of the Waldbaum Center in Ashkelon, please click here.
