OUR FOUNDERS

Dear Friends,

In 1977, my father, Issie Shapiro z”l, made Aliyah to Israel together with my mother, Lucie z”l, who would later establish Beit Issie Shapiro’s volunteer program.

My father had a dream: to create a home in Israel for children with disabilities, supporting their families and giving them equal opportunities to live in the community with dignity, values, and rights. He believed that real change begins within the community.

He did not live to fulfill that dream. He passed away suddenly while traveling abroad at the age of 65. My mother, my siblings Max and Esther, and I took it upon ourselves with love, faith, and deep commitment to bring his dream to life. Over time, it proudly became our dream as well.

We were joined by our extended family, especially the family of my father’s sister, Celia Trump z”l, her husband Willie, and their children and grandchildren. Together with our professional staff, donors, partners, volunteers, and the families we serve, that dream has grown into Beit Issie Shapiro, a leading voice in the field of disability in Israel and around the world.

For almost five decades, I have been moved to see my father’s legacy carried from one generation to the next, with our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren helping ensure Beit Issie Shapiro’s future.

In 2020, I received the Israel Prize for Lifetime Achievement. When I heard the news, I looked up and said in my heart, “This is in your honor, Dad.” Then I looked to the families, the children, and the staff, and said out loud: “This prize belongs to you.”

Today, I look at Beit Issie Shapiro with deep pride. What began as my father’s dream has grown into an organization that impacts more than 500,000 people each year in Israel and around the world, changing lives, shaping policy, advancing inclusion, and helping build a more just society.

All of this is in the merit of my father, Issie Shapiro z”l, and the dream he left for us to fulfill.

Because it is possible.

Yours,
Naomi Stuchiner

Celia Shapiro Trump was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, together with her siblings Tilly, Fay, Issie, and Razel “Bobby.” Though the siblings eventually built their lives across South Africa, Israel, and the United States, they remained deeply connected by family, shared values, and a commitment to helping others.

After Celia’s brother, Issie Shapiro z”l, passed away in 1980, Celia and her husband, Willie Trump, and their children Eddie, Jules and Stephanie helped carry forward his dream. Together with Issie’s children, Max, Esther, and Naomi, they played a vital role in establishing Beit Issie Shapiro as a warm, welcoming, and safe place for children with disabilities and their families.

With generosity, humility, and determination, Celia, Willie, Eddie, Jules and Stephanie helped build the foundation for Beit Issie Shapiro’s growth, creating a global circle of support rooted in the family’s values of giving, justice, and equality. Their efforts helped turn vision into action and supported the development of Beit Issie Shapiro into a model of excellence in Israel and around the world.

Today, Celia and Willie’s grandchildren, and great-grandchildren continue this commitment through leadership, philanthropy, volunteering, and fundraising. Celia and Willie’s granddaughter, Sasha Trump Weiss, now serves as Chair of the Board.

Aaron De Lowe z”l was born in California on January 10, 1975, the third of Helene and Jack De Lowe’s four children. Within his first day of life, Aaron began having seizures, marking the start of a complex medical journey for him and his family.

Aaron needed ongoing medical care, including oxygen support and feeding assistance, but Helene and Jack were determined for him to live at home, surrounded by love and family. On March 1, 1979, two months before the family made Aliyah to Israel, Aaron passed away suddenly at the age of four.

After arriving in Israel, Helene and Jack set out to understand where children with disabilities needed the greatest support. They found that Israel had no coordinated framework for early intervention for infants and toddlers with developmental delays. Soon after, they met Naomi Stuchiner, who was establishing Beit Issie Shapiro in memory of her father, Issie Shapiro z”l. Together, they created the Aaron De Lowe Early Intervention Center in Aaron’s memory.

The Center opened in 1982 as Israel’s first comprehensive, multidisciplinary early intervention programs for babies and young children at developmental risk. From the beginning, it offered a new model, bringing together therapy, education, family support, professional training, and personalized solutions under one roof.

Helene De Lowe founded the center and served as its first director for 16 years, from 1982 to 1997. Her leadership, together with the family’s deep philanthropic commitment, helped make early intervention a central pillar of Beit Issie Shapiro’s mission. Under her direction, the center developed professional standards, trained therapists and clinicians, supported families, and became a demonstration site that influenced services across Israel.

Over the years, the Aaron De Lowe Early Intervention Center became a national model for early intervention, therapy, family support, professional training, and personalized technology solutions for children with disabilities.

After four decades of service, the original De Lowe building was renovated to make way for the new Beit Raz Inclusive Early Childhood Campus, which carries this legacy forward in a comprehensive inclusive environment for young children with and without disabilities.

Aaron’s life was short, but through the love, vision, and leadership of Helene and Jack De Lowe, his memory continues to touch thousands of children and families, giving each child the chance to grow, learn, and reach their potential.