Members of the Maccabi Tel Aviv squad paid a visit to Tel Aviv's "Safra" Children's Hospital to bring a bit of Hanukkah festival light into the lives of the young residents. Carlos Garcia: "A child's smile is a gift"
In a gesture that has already become a club tradition, members of the Maccabi Tel Aviv squad were guests this afternoon at the children's section of Tel Hashomer hospital in Tel Aviv. As in recent years, this year too local Maccabi stars – captain Sheran Yeini, Yoav Ziv, Dor Micha and Barak Levi – packed up scarves, caps and presents and set out to brighten up the faces of the children in the various wings of the hospital. Two foreign players, Carlos Garcia and Nicola Mitrovic, went along too and got their first taste of the glowing holiday spirit that is the true meaning of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. Joined by first team manager Benny Tabak, the six Maccabi stars began their tour with a visit to the psychiatric ward and from there visited every ward in the hospital, devoting attention to every single child along the way. But with all due respect to the players, the real star of the show was "Maccabino", whose presence won the immediate and enthusiastic attention of everyone the Maccabi Tel Aviv mascot encountered. And not just from the children. Even the doctors and nurses present found it difficult to resist the urge to join in on the fun and get their pictures taken with Maccabi's most fun-loving representative.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlPKb9TBWKw
"This is one of the best things we can do as football players", said Maccabi's Spanish defender Carlos Garcia about the visit. "If our visit can help these children forget their woes, even for a moment, it's absolutely the best thing we can do for them and for their families. One smile from a child is the greatest gift we could possibly receive, and the smiles on the faces of their family members tell you just how important our visit was to them as well". Team captain Sheran Yeini added: "I really enjoy coming here every year, it's a great gift to the children and to be quite honest, it's a great gift to us as well. Seeing the children so happy and smiling and feeling good, well, it makes us feel good too".
This traditional hospital visit was arranged in co-operation with the voluntary supporters association "Achim Besemel", who continue to take the lead in providing a connection between Maccabi Tel Aviv fans and the community as a whole. Representatives of the association were also present to hand out traditional Hanukah spinning tops called "dreidels" or "savivonim" and to accompany the Maccabi players throughout their entire visit. The association will continue their activities throughout the Hanukkah holiday, which begins on Wednesday evening, and are expected to visit "Ha'emek" hospital in the north and Soroka hospital in the south of the country in the course of the week. Maccabi fans who are interested in participating in the association's activities and getting more information are invited to go to the association's Facebook page "Achim Lesemel".
