A Dream Come True: HIT Students Bring Costumes to Life

From Bat-Mobile to a Corona Lab: Design Faculty students and disabled children from Beit Issie Shapiro creatively celebrate Purim 2021.

The ongoing tradition of collaboration between Beit Issie Shapiro in Ra’anana and HIT’s Faculty of Design and the Dean of Students Social Involvement Unit continues, despite the limitations imposed by the Corona virus. The result:  customized costumes for children with severe disabilities especially adapted to wheel chairs and walkers.

About 40 students, mostly industrial designers, volunteered for this unique annual project, led for the sixth time by Adi Spiegel, a lecturer in the Industrial Design department.  The students meet with the children and their parents and together work on their unique costume, with one goal in mind:  making their dreams come true.  Because of mobility issues, the specialized design process is as challenging as it is rewarding.

This year, due to Covid restrictions, the event didn’t take place physically on site.  Instead, the students worked individually with every child, culminating in a spectacular Zoom celebration, receiving wide media attention in several media outlets.

“It was really important for us to keep the tradition going, despite the limitations of the times”,  said Adi Spiegel. “Instead of holding a big public event, our students met with the children and their families separately, a process which greatly intensified the personal bond between them. Every year, I am moved by witnessing the wonderful connection that is created between the students and the children, which shows how, via design, we can turn the ‘obstacle’ of a wheelchair or a walker into an empowering tool for the children”.

Mr. Samuel Goldberg, HIT’s CEO, enthusiastically expressed his overwhelming support of this ongoing tradition. “HIT is committed to serving the community, and this event is part of a much broader institutional agenda of social action and volunteering for the better good. It is personally moving for me to see how our students work with such great passion and care.  I’m proud that even after graduation from HIT, our alumni continue to participate in this blessed activity”.

Among the volunteers is Kobi Edri, owner of the HIT Design Supply Shop, who previously donated materials for the costumes and this year decided to design a costume himself for one of the children.

A number of costumes designed this year related to the Corona virus itself, such as the “Corona Lab” and even a Covid-Vaccine!  All of these joined the traditional lineup super heroes and fantasy characters.

It’s all in a night’s dream.

Posted: 04/03/2021