Keeping Koby's spirit alive

"To keep Koby's spirit alive and his power working in the world." That's what I said this week when a filmmaker from India asked me why we started The Koby Mandell Foundation. 

"Koby would have done a lot of good things in the world," I continued. "He would have had friends that he made laugh, a family he loved, a profession through which he would have made a contribution to society. The terrorists who murdered him robbed the world of his positive power. Camp Koby and our other programs make kids laugh and create a community of friendship." 

Camp Koby campers, all of whom have lost an immediate family member to terror, share their feelings of loss with each other and with their counselors. This creates deep bonds of love and friendship. I believe Camp Koby replaces a little of what was lost to the world when Koby was murdered. Bringing some joy into the world is the most we can do for him, for our family and for the world.

Koby loved baseball. When he won the contest for best player in his age group in the Efrat Little league he was so excited that he jumped up and ran circles around the field. It was like his body couldn't contain his joy. That year I was the coach of the league's all-star team and Koby and I his teammates traveled around the country playing other teams. Koby was close to his teammates and a strong competitor. I don't remember wining or losing. I remember being spending time with Koby.

After Koby was murdered, stoned to death by terrorists in a cave near our home in Tekoa, Cal Ripkin found out that he had been Koby's hero.  Later he agreed to be honored at the first Koby Mandell Foundation Gala. Since then we've maintained the sports theme at our major fund raising event each year, honoring then-Mets coach Willie Randolph and NY Giants running back Tiki Barber. 

One of my personal goals is to make foundation activities things that Koby would have liked to do. That's why our major program is a camp for kids. In the same vein, one of the things Koby enjoyed the most was attending a baseball game at the brand new Orioles stadium in Baltimore. This year we're staying with our sports theme for our event in the US but we're adding a new twist, our "honoree" is the new Yankee stadium.

On September 23, guests of The Koby Mandell Foundation will be treated to an "Insider's Tour of Yankee Stadium," including visits to the Yankee club house, dugout, batting cages and Monument park. On hand as special guests will be Yankee and Mets pitching legend Dwight Gooden and Jewish baseball great Ron Bloomberg. Proceeds from the event go to fund Camp Koby and the other programs of The Koby Mandell Foundation.

This summer, Camp Koby hosted almost 500 hundred Israeli children. They experienced up to 10 days of fun, friends and creative therapies like art, music and drama.  Camp Koby meets several times a year so that children know that they are not alone. They know that others understand how they feel, care about them and stand ready to help them heal. 

At one program that included hundreds of family members of all ages a father came over. He looked around at the activities, children running and playing, parents talking to one another, a stage with music and even animal rides.

"Many people," he said, "make memorials for their murdered children. They name a building or a garden or even a synagogue after them. But you have created something different. You created a living memorial to your son, a memorial of life and laughter and joy. Thank you for inviting me to be part of it."