A story is told of Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, zt”l, who sent his shamash to drop off envelopes on Erev Yom Tov to families in need. The shamash checked in the envelopes and saw money and zoo tickets. He thought to himself, “I don’t understand why these families need zoo tickets delivered right before Yom Tov?” He asked Rav Auerbach why he had to deliver zoo tickets so close to Yom Tov. The Rav explained that these families had nowhere to go during the Moed, and upon resuming school after the Chag, all of the schoolchildren would relate where they went over the Moed and the children from these families would have nothing to say.

This chesed and sensitivity towards the feelings of others inspired us to create another offshoot of Recharge (a vacation relief fund) entitled Tickets 613. For frum families in a situation of financial need, we are offering a limited number of year-long family memberships to local attractions – the Toronto Zoo, The Ontario Science Centre, Ripley’s Aquarium and Bird Kingdom in Niagara Falls. All families will be verified through our regular protocol to ensure that they qualify.

For Chol Hamoed and anytime during the year, families in need can enjoy time together bonding and getting a change of scenery.