Koach Eitan, a nonprofit that supports individuals and families navigating stroke, brain injury and aphasia, won a $10,000 on-the-spot grant at the Nonprofit Navigator Conference, hosted by fundraising coaching company Nonprofit Navigator. Koach Eitan was one of four winning finalists selected from a pool of 40 organizations who pitched a panel of philanthropists in a “Shark Tank"-style event at Nefesh B’Nefesh in Jerusalem.
After Eitan Ashman suffered a massive stroke in August 2017 at age 42, his wife Leora created a Facebook page to share updates about Eitan’s recovery and the new reality she and her family were going through. That page slowly grew into Koach Eitan, a nonprofit that currently supports more than 85 families in Israel and abroad.
“The struggle of building something from nothing while living through it was and is challenging, but we do it to fill a void that is so needed,” Leora explained, describing the years spent developing Koach Eitan’s programs, side by side with her husband Eitan. They continue that work today.
Those programs focus on three areas: peer-to-peer support, community inclusion and public education and awareness of stroke, brain injury and aphasia. A key goal in raising awareness of aphasia is explaining that it affects language, not intellect. To that end, they developed the Let’s Talk communication tool, which provides practical strategies and prompts to help people communicate with and include individuals living with aphasia and other speech and language impairments in everyday conversation.
To help educate the broader Jewish community about the challenges of participating in Jewish ritual and communal life, Koach Eitan has developed several original tools and initiatives. It holds an annual “World Aphasia Shabbat” every January, with a growing number of synagogues around the world participating.
To help individuals with aphasia fully participate in Jewish holidays and rituals, Koach Eitan develops inclusive resources such as printable blessing cards with supportive visual icons and an accessible Passover Haggadah that empowers participation and conversation at the Seder.
Leora observed that the award reflects a broader challenge that nonprofits like theirs currently face in a crowded and strained Israeli philanthropic landscape. “The war has taken so much of the charitable giving that many incredible organizations rely on,” she said. “For a cause as misunderstood as brain injury and aphasia, fundraising has become even more challenging. That is what made this win especially meaningful. Finally, someone listened and saw that there is a whole community of people who need to be seen and understood. Just being seen can further recovery and give families the strength they need every single day.”
Nearly 100 nonprofit leaders gathered at the conference for workshops, meetings with funders and pitching sessions in front of Israeli philanthropists: Leket Israel founder Joseph Gitler; Moishe Sandler, former Hadassah International president; Miriam Zussman, founder of Shoham, a nonprofit organization that helps support and empower at-risk Israeli Ethiopian youth; and Avia Kronitz, representing Ellen and Emanuel Kronitz, co-founder of AvaTrade, a leading online trading platform.
The $10,000 award will help support Koach Eitan’s efforts to formalize partnerships with rehabilitation centers across Israel; expand its Lifeline peer-support program; and add to its team of social workers and volunteers so that families can connect with the organization before they leave rehab and then have a support system already in place when they come home and are faced with another transition.
The need for Koach Eitan’s work becomes more evident every day. “In the past week I received two calls from new families with no one to talk to that understands what they are going through or what they need,” Leora explained.
“We help those families navigate their new reality and replace the feeling of isolation with one of belonging.”
For additional information, visit: Brain Injury, Stroke and Aphasia | Koach Eitan Initiative; or contact leora@koacheitan.com
