At a "happening" held at Maccabi's Kiryat Shalom training ground, senior team members met children from various charities on "Good Deeds Day"
"Good Deeds Day" is the annual flagship project of the organisation "Ruach Tova", who have taken upon themselves the task of developing volunteerism in Israel. For that purpose, and to promote the spirit of mutuality in Israeli society, the "Good Deeds Day" project was started in 2007 and continues up to this day. This year Maccabi Tel Aviv commemorated "Good Deeds Day" with a "happening" at their Kiryat Shalom training complex, where first-team players met with children from a variety of charities, played football and had their photographs taken with them, and at the end presented the children with gifts coutesy of Israel's national sports betting authority, "Winner". Among the Maccabi players who spent the afternoon with the children was Dor Micha, who said of the experience: "Putting smiles on these kids' faces is the very least we can do. These are charities who are carrying out this important work on a daily basis. So far I'm concerned our bonds with the community should be strengthened everywhere. These are things that go beyond the scope of football and it's part of the vision of the owner of the club to contribute as much as possible to the community, and that's the path we try to follow".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrmSvqvStWI
Another Maccabi stalwart to spend the afternoon with the children was Carlos Garcia and he too was keen to share his thoughts: "I understand that this is a special day that the club wants to be part of. One of the objects of the club is not only the sport, it's to be close to the people, to the Tel Aviv people, to the Israeli people, and I think it's very important, days like today, to these people who are suffering to have this nice day that they can enjoy and forget about their problems. When you speak about the club it's not only what happens in the games, it's a lot of things around, and I think that days like today show what kind of club Maccabi Tel Aviv is. And it's a lot of feelings here. First you are sad because of how they are, but you are happy because you see that they are happy and enjoying and this is very important. You are happy about your job. You can make people happy and this is very, very important".
Among the organisations represented were "Educating for Excellence", an organisation established for the purpose of promoting equal opportunity in education, with a view to narrowing the enormous social and economic gaps that exist within Israeli society. Every other week the children involved in the project attend training sessions at Kiryat Shalom with team members of the Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Division. The "Larger than Life" organisation was founded in the year 2000 by parents of cancer-stricken children with a view to supporting them in dealing with the disease. "Kav Lachayim" is a social movement founded in 1989 for the purpose of helping thousands of children and others suffering from serious illnesses, complex disabilities, and rare symptoms. The "Lachan" youth village was established to provide a continuity of care for teenagers at risk.
