Ira Riklis can tell you that there are many ways to measure success in business. First, of course, you have to define your goals. Once you’ve done that, it’s a matter of taking the proper steps towards achieving them. From there, you establish metrics and concrete benchmarks that tell you how you’re doing and where you need to boost your efforts or rethink your strategy. But how do you measure success when it comes to caring for children who come to you from broken homes?
That’s the question the directors and staff at EMUNAH Bet Elazraki Children’s Home in Israel ask themselves whenever a new child comes into their care. Each child is different, but there’s one constant: each is welcomed as a beloved part of their extended family. From that point of view, success is easily defined. It’s a who becomes an honor student and is the first to raise his hand and give the right answer in class. It’s a girl smiling happily at her Bat Mitzvah party, surrounded by friends, presents and love. It’s the home’s alumni who, freed of the vicious cycle of distress that they came from, cross from the receiving side to the giving side of our society, serve in the military, study in university, work and support themselves, build families and raise their children in good homes. And it’s those, and many, many more successes that have made Ira Riklis such a loyal, long-time supporter of the home.