Dr. Saul Pressner is the Secretary of the Board of Directors of AFDVI and a yearly volunteer at the DVI clinic. In fact, he volunteers multiple times each year because he loves the children, the staff and all that the clinic means to Jerusalem’s families in need.
I have been very fortunate to have volunteered at DVI many times and plan to continue doing this at least once a year for as long as I am able. I was never blessed with having had my own children, so I look for opportunities to give back to kids however I can. I also feel very strongly about Israel and the Israeli people and I want to help in any way I can to support that great nation.
The important feelings I have for the clinic come from my heart. Dr. D. Walter Cohen, who was strongly involved in supporting the clinic, was my Dean at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine when I was a dental student. When he was honored by American Friends of DVI a few years back, it brought DVI onto my radar screen. Dean Cohen was very kind to me as a dental student. After the event where he was honored, I decided I wanted to volunteer at DVI.
The staff at DVI is wonderful. After having been there many times, they feel like family to me. It feels like coming home. The dental assistants are truly dedicated to Trudi Birger’s vision of providing the highest level of dental care for Jerusalem’s disadvantaged youth and seniors. It is so special to volunteer in a place where such excellent care is rendered to all without regard to their ethnicity or religion. The staff and volunteers only want to do what is best for the patients.
The dentists with whom I have volunteered are also very special people and I have become friends with a number of them. This is what DVI is all about. We are all working together to continue Trudi’s goals: to deliver the best dental care to the needy in Jerusalem regardless of their religious background and by doing so, give back to the state of Israel, the only true western style democracy in the Middle East.
I feel we are giving back in the best way we can with our time and skill. I am very grateful for the opportunity to serve in this way.
Read more stories about DVI’s patients and dentist volunteers HERE.
Make your tax-deductible donation HERE!