By Shimmy Blum. Walk into Yesodos and you see thirty happy boys, in grades Primary through Eighth, in class or interacting with their friends. Start scratching beneath the surface, and you realize that each talmid is a miracle in his own right.

It is not a cliché’ – but rather an ironclad fact – that Yesodos helps these boys enjoy a promising future, b’ezras Hashem, in a way that no other existing mosad in Lakewood can. The boys at Yesodos struggle with major academic, social and/or behavioral issues; typically a combination of several challenges each. Their prospects of succeeding in any mainstream mosad – even in a self contained class or with remedial help – is very low. Even the other specialized mosdos and special-ed programs in town are not tailored for their specialty level.

Rabbi Mordechai Tesser, the veteran special-ed guru who serves as Yesodos’s principal, doesn’t mince any words. “Throughout my years in this field, I’ve seen all too many children who had these challenges and did not have a program like Yesodos end up in the streets in the worst way,” he says.

With Yesodos on the map, the scene is as bright as it is bleak without it. Every aspect of the program has been designed for precisely these students, overseen by Rabbi Tesser and other leading professionals. Small classes; specially trained rabbeim and teachers; low student to teacher ratios; remedial help; special projects; and more; offer a custom tailored program to each student and his unique needs.

The results have been astounding, tried and true. These boys progress at their maximum potential day after day, year after year. Alumni of Rabbi Tesser’s programs – spanning decades – have progressed to learn in recognized mainstream mosdos. Quite a few of them are now happily married, leading beautiful Torah homes and occupying successful positions in the business or chinuch spheres.

There is no greater gift one can give to these precious neshamos and their families than the opportunity for them to lead a happy, healthy and ehrliche life, and build a family. However, it comes at a steep cost. Yesodos’s operational budget costs approximately $32,000 a year per student above the combined revenue of full tuition (a high rate) and government funding. This figure is not even considering Yesodos’s desperate need for a proper building. It is currently housed in trailers off Prospect Street.

A group of Lakewood baalei chessed and askanim have taken it upon themselves to help Yesodos thrive on a sustainable path. In addition to various behind-the-scenes fundraising activities, they are working to enroll additional students who are suitable for the Yesodos program but are not currently in an optimal mosad. This would help those boys enjoy a brighter future, b’ezras Hashem, as well as help alleviate Yesodos’s operating deficit.

In addition to this all, however, Yesodos can only be sustained with solid support from the broader Lakewood community. A multifaceted community wide campaign has now been launched to help this mosad thrive.

We can all have a part in this project, which is literally saving the children of our friends and neighbors. Are we ready to step up to the plate?

Donations can be made online here. For more information, please contact [email protected] or 732 730 1221