The prize’s namesake, Rabbi Dov Levy, founded Seeach Sod in Israel over 50 years ago. The network provides therapeutic, educational, vocational and residential services for thousands of people with disabilities throughout Israel.

Jerusalem Post readers and a panel of five judges chose Shwekey and Bender from a group of eight nominees for their efforts in establishing a state-of-the-art center that services over 600 children & adults with special needs from New York and New Jersey. The Center provides round-the-clock respite services throughout the year. Special education staff run therapeutic programs, and over 300 young volunteers come to the Center to give their time in helping to ease the burden.

Close friends, Bender and Shwekey began volunteering at a special needs facility after school, feeding the children and getting them ready for bed. “We discovered that a special child can soar beyond challenges and beyond expectations with the help of a loving hand,” they said.

The other nominees for the prize were New Jersey Assemblyman Gary Schaer, who has fought for special education funding; Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, founder of RespectAbility, a disability-led nonprofit that works to create systemic change in how society views and values people with disabilities; Matan A. Koch, one of America’s leading Jewish inclusion experts, and director of California and Jewish Leadership at RespectAbility; Dean Cohen, founder of Flying Fox, an Australian organization that provides social opportunities for people with disabilities; Gaby Gotesman and friends, one of five graduating seniors who volunteered in SINAI’s Inclusion by Design program; Stacey Lubofsky, founder of Giving Tree, an organization in Australia that engages children, both with and without disabilities, and promotes inclusivity; and Chaya Tesler, trustee for Misgav, a London-based organization that provides a haven for adult women with disabilities.

Riki Deutscher of Kew Gardens Hills, NY, was selected from among Jerusalem Post contest voters as the winner of a free round-trip ticket to Israel. “As a special education teacher by profession for over 20 years, there is no other cause closer to my heart than special education in our schools,” she said.