With Israeli soccer team Beitar Yerushalayim facing a crucial match earlier this month against the national champions, Maccabi Haifa, team sponsor Eddie Mor tried an unusual maneuver to motivate his players. He set up a partnership between the team and Aleh, a center serving children with disabilities, and kicked it off with a donation of $10,000 to the center. The players responded with some of their most inspired play of the year, thrashing the champions in a 4-0 victory.
The win, Mor said, demonstrates the power of philanthropy. "It gave the players that extra edge they needed to raise their level of performance," said Mor, who also convinced the team's management to set up regular visits to the center by the team's players. "It's one of the secrets of team sports: players play better when they look beyond themselves and focus on the team."
Aleh was founded in 1982 to aid children in Israel with severe disabilities. Today it provides specialized, around-the-clock medical care and therapy to over 400 children and young adults in its care centers in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak and Gedera. Aleh's primary goal is to help all of its children attain a higher level of independence.