Adat Ari El Students Help Brighten Lives of Sick Children

Tali Strauss has worked for a long time with the community and the day school in Valley Village—since before her daughter and son entered kindergarten and preschool there.

But this past year, the entire school population helped her with a cause that her cousin started. Strauss’ cousin had a little boy, Oscar Litwak, who lived for four years as a bubbly baby suffering from Wilms tumor, a cancer of the kidneys. About eight years ago, he succumbed to the disease.

While Oscar was in and out of the hospital for treatments, spending eight- to 10-hour stretches there, he didn’t have much to play with, his parents noticed. So, they created the Oscar Litwak Foundation (oscarlitwakfoundation.org) to buy "mobile playrooms"—carts that can be wheeled to sick children at hospitals.

The carts have games, toys, Play-Doh and other entertaining distractions for the children while they are hospitalized. Since the foundation began in 2006, there have been 57 carts placed in hospitals across the U.S., as well as Mexico and Israel.

Now Strauss has the opportunity to bring the project home. The student councils of Adat Ari El chose to raise money for this cause. They spent the year selling snow cones and popcorn, and collecting their tzdaka money (money for people less privileged), and gave it to the foundation.

On Tuesday afternoon, Strauss wheeled in the cart as the school gasped and applauded, seeing the product of their labor.

Principal Lana Marcus said, “I thank all of the students, and the two student councils that decided to work on this cause, and here we have the cart,” which is slated to go to Mattel Children's Hospital at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

“It was a great experience to see how thrilled the children were about the cart,” Strauss said. “They got to look inside and see all the games and toys they donated, and where their money went.”

As Strauss wheeled the cart into the auditorium, one teacher said, “I think I’m going to cry.”

 (See the above video and the photo gallery for more.)