After Witnessing Suicide Bombing, Resident Helps Globally, Locally

Everyday Inspirations is a series that features people in Patch communities who inspire others through their work, or people who have faced extraordinary situations and grown from them. They have been featured by other people in the community that have been inspired by the nominees.

Name: Haina Just-Michael 
Town: New Rochelle, NY
Nominated by: Shuli Just-Michael

Why is this person an "Everyday Inspiration?" 
Haina is a true to heart, walking definition of the word "inspiration." Every day, Haina volunteers with multiple organizations and causes that she feels is important and encourages others to stand up for whom and what they believe in as well.

Whether it is helping the local candidates get more votes or just encouraging people to vote in the first place, Haina is the first one out there. Haina has helped the local library grow and serve more people in the community and has worked with the Meals On Wheels program as well as in local soup kitchens to ensure that nobody is hungry.

And it's such a joy to hear her every Wednesday morning on WVOX. Even whilst doing all of this, Haina is still able to be an exemplary mom to her three daughters, wife to her husband and daughter to her father. There is not another person like Haina Just-Michael who has the ability to, not only be a wonderfully amazing and talented woman, but who can inspire others to try and do the same. 

Has the nominee's life been changed in an extraordinary way? 

On Sept. 4, 1997 Haina and her daughter, Rose, were walking on Ben Yehuda Street, one of the main pedestrian thoroughfares in Jerusalem, when suicide bombers blew themselves up and killed multiple people. While the dust and smoke was still billowing over the stores the comforting site they saw was that of the red and white uniforms of the Magen David Adom paramedics running into the chaos of the traumatic scene, ready to help with the injured.

After this traumatic event, Haina looked into how she can help Magen David Adom (MDA) as an organization that is dedicated to saving lives in Israel and to teaching lifesaving techniques around the world. One of the things Haina did to help out was coordinate for Guy Caspi, a global expert on multi-casualty response and training, to brief more than 100 county first-responders at the Westchester County Board of Legislators.

This event brought awareness to the Jewish and non-Jewish community, making AFMDA, the most valuable lifesaving agency, from Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem to Hartsdale and Yonkers. This is just one example of the many ways that Haina can see a need and step up, ready for action.

How does this person work to make others' lives better?

Haina is, first and foremost, a family woman. Taking care of her father and daughters, she is a role-model to everyone who sees how well she does what she does and how appreciative the recipients of her love are to have her.

But you do not need to be directly related to her for Haina to be taking care of you. Haina sees everyone as part of the family. Whether that means taking in a friend who needs a place to sleep or supporting the local vendors at the farmers market every Friday, Haina impacts the loves of those around her every day. She is pure of heart and happy to lend helping hand (or tennis racquet) whenever and wherever.