HIT and Beit Issie Shapiro Bring Purim Costumes to Life for Children with Disabilities

For eleven consecutive years, industrial design students at HIT Holon Institute of Technology have been creating special Purim costumes for children who use wheelchairs and walkers,  part of an ongoing and deeply moving collaboration with Beit Issie Shapiro.

Photo: Ron Fridman  

Purim is a holiday of joy, imagination, and enchantment. Yet for children who rely on a wheelchair or walker, choosing a costume can present a very real challenge. This year, as every year for more than a decade, the unique partnership between Beit Issie Shapiro and HIT transformed that reality.

Students from HIT's Department of Industrial Design, led by faculty member Katie Levine, created stunning costumes that incorporate the mobility aids themselves -the walker, the wheelchair - not as limitations, but as integral elements of the costume's narrative and visual design.

The costumes were unveiled at a festive event held at Beit Issie Shapiro, where children, their families, students, and staff came together in a celebration that united creativity, inclusion, and joy.

Prof. Eduard Yakubov, President of HIT, spoke at the event: "Each year, we are proud to be part of this joint project with Beit Issie Shapiro - an initiative that powerfully demonstrates the connection between academia, design, and human values. More than 60 students devoted their time, talent, and heart during the busiest period of the academic year to make children's dreams come true. This project exemplifies, in the clearest possible way, how creativity and design can serve as instruments of social change, personal growth, and meaningful impact on the lives of others."

Mr. Shmuel Goldberg, CEO of HIT, expressed his pride in the continuation of this tradition, emphasizing that the Institute views itself as a responsible partner to Israeli society and community and that this initiative is one thread in a broader tapestry of social engagement. "It moves me deeply to see our students act with such genuine love and wholehearted commitment," said Mr. Goldberg, adding that HIT alumni also choose to return and participate in this project year after year.

Photo: Ron Fridman  

"This is a truly moving initiative, now in its eleventh year of collaboration between children and students," said Amir Lerner, CEO of Beit Issie Shapiro. "It is about making costumes and making children's dreams come true. Dreams that belong to all of us. But for children with disabilities, every wheelchair, every walker, is transformed from an obstacle into a vehicle that allows them to fulfill any fantasy and become a star for a day."

What makes this project distinctive is its underlying philosophy: the students did not design costumes despite the wheelchair or walker- they designed costumes that embrace these aids as part of the visual storytelling. A wheelchair becomes a royal carriage; a walker sprouts magnificent wings. Every child is transformed into a hero, a star, the character they have always dreamed of being - not merely in imagination, but in a costume crafted especially for them.

The project is carried out in partnership with the Social Engagement Unit of the Student Dean's Office, led by Dr. Limor Sahar Inbar, Dean of Students, and Yafa Sitbon, Coordinator of Social Engagement.
HIT – Holon Institute of Technology places great importance on instilling values of social responsibility alongside academic excellence and encourages students to participate in a wide range of courses that integrate social engagement within the framework of their degree programs.