In the wake of the September 11 tragedy, Yeshiva University students lost no time moving to assist the search and rescue efforts amidst the carnage and rubble of the World Trade Center. Inspired by the courage of Washington Heights Hatzolah whose members were among the first responders to the scene, providing medical support to victims injured in the blast Yeshiva students hurried to do their part in the effort, quickly organizing a collection of money and supplies for volunteers and victims.

Student Organization of Yeshiva President Ilan Rosenrauch spearheaded a weeklong fundraising campaign to benefit Hatzolah of Washington Heights. The emergency medical team needs to replace valuable equipment that was lost and damaged in the collapse of the World Trade Center.

"Upwards of five thousand dollars have been raised so far," said Rosenrauch. He cautions, though, that Hatzolah has sustained severe losses, including the destruction of one of its Queens ambulances and "it is imperative that we replace the equipment that they lost when they risked their lives, as soon as possible."

Yeshiva students also organized a collection of food and supplies. "We couldn't just sit in class and not do anything, so we decided to do our part by collecting food, clothing, supplies and money," explained one of the collection's coordinators, Yeshiva College sophomore Motty Pavlovsky.

Pavlovsky and his older brother Levi situated themselves in the pedestrian sidewalk at the corner of 185th and Amsterdam, where they set up collection baskets, enabling students to easily donate medical supplies, clothing, flashlights and batteries. Other students involved in the collection stationed themselves outside the Caf store, where students filled donation bins with non-perishable foods purchased with their "caf cards." One student remarked, "It's really incredible how spontaneous these efforts are; it seems that everyone realizes that he can make a difference in these tough times."

After the bins were filled, the contents needed to be boxed before they could be delivered to the Jacob Javits Convention Center, the locus of volunteer efforts. Isaac Breuer College Student Council President Simon Landsberg, who assisted in the packaging process, points out that the students who organized the collection were not student leaders. Rather, he recalled, they were just people who wanted to help in any way possible.

At the end of the day, bins full of clothing, batteries and flashlights badly needed by volunteers searching the rubble for survivors and three bins of non-perishable items, as well as medical supplies purchased with money collected, were taken downtown and given directly to volunteers and EMTs who were courageously working through the night to find survivors.