Source: Kylie Ora Lobell for Aish.com
When Josh Aryeh was a child growing up in the Five Towns, New York, he was surrounded by wealth. He got picked on in school for not having what the other kids did. So, he decided that when he grew up, he’d become Bruce Wayne. He’d be incredibly rich and own private jets, beautiful houses, and, of course, exotic cars.
As he got older, his priorities shifted. But he retained his love of sports cars. He ended up working for wealthy friends and would enjoy driving their fancy cars when he was running errands for them.
One day, Aryeh realized that if he loved these kinds of cars when he was a kid, other kids must love them too. He started calling different organizations who help kids with cancer to see if any of the kids would want to ride in one of the sports cars…with permission from the owners, of course.
Aryeh received a call from the family of an 8-year-old girl in Queens. She was sick and her dream was to ride around in a Lamborghini. He drove over there, excited to see the little girl’s reaction.
“When she saw this bright yellow convertible Lamborghini, her face lit up,” Aryeh said. “She had one of the biggest smiles you’ve ever seen. Her parents took her out of her wheelchair and we drove around for 15 minutes.”
After returning to the house, the girl’s mother started crying hysterically. Aryeh was worried.
“I said to her, ‘If I did something wrong or insensitive, please let me know.’ I thought it was maybe something I said. She said, ‘No, you don’t understand. My daughter got cancer when she was four. She’s had over 20 surgeries. She was partially paralyzed from an infection. This is the first time I’ve seen her smile since her diagnosis.’”
Aryeh saw what an impact he could make and he wanted to do more.
“It was just a car at the end of the day,” he said, “but I realized I could make a huge impact. I shifted my focus from wanting to be Bruce Wayne to using these cars for a greater purpose.”
Aryeh decided that he was not only going to drive up in a nice car – he was also going to dress as Batman. He’d heard about Lenny B. Robinson, a Jewish man who would visit sick children in the hospital dressed as Batman. Sadly, Robinson was killed after he got out of his Batmobile on the side of a highway and another car hit him.
“I never got to meet Lenny, but I wanted to continue his legacy,” Aryeh said. “I decided to become Batman as well.”
Smiles Through Cars
Today, Aryeh has formally established his organization, Smiles Through Cars, as a 501(c)3 non-profit. He volunteers all day Sunday through Thursday, going on hospital visits and sending his friends out in superhero and princess costumes, too. Now, he’ll show up in either the Lamborghini or Rolls Royce that belongs to his organization. Avi Karadi of ASAP Restoration in Hewlett, New York, the non-profit’s main sponsor, donated the two cars.
Josh Aryeh and Avi Karadi with the Lamborghini and Rolls Royce
Along with visiting hospitals and homes, Smiles Through Cars feeds the hungry during Hanukkah and provides Shabbat needs to those in need. They also give out gift cards to children so they can go on shopping sprees and take kids to basketball games. If a child doesn’t live in New York or nearby, Aryeh will arrange a FaceTime with one of the volunteers. He estimates that he’s helped more than 50,000 people in states like New York, Florida, and Nevada, and he posts inspiring stories on his group’s Instagrams, @batmanrealaccount and @smilesthroughcars, which have nearly 500,000 followers.
Aryeh frequently receives messages from followers who are touched by what he’s doing. “People message me and say I’m the reason they’re alive,” he said. “They tell me they’ve been going through some of the worst times of their life and they’ve been contemplating suicide because they’ve had enough. But seeing our page day after day and what we’re doing gave them hope. You never realize how far your small, random act of kindness will go.”
No Stranger to Pain
Unfortunately, Aryeh is no stranger to pain. Seventeen years ago, his sister Aviva came back from seminary in Israel right before Passover. One night, she fell ill; Aryeh woke up to the sound of paramedics in his home.
“I thought they were there for my dad who had health issues,” he said. “But I saw my sister’s lips turning blue from a lack of oxygen.”
For the next week, Aryeh and his family were by his sister’s bedside at the hospital. She almost passed away multiple times.
“It was a complete rollercoaster,” he said.
After a week, Aviva tragically died, and her family sat shiva until Passover.
“I know what it’s like to be in the hospital, praying for a loved one to pull through,” Aryeh said. “I couldn’t save my sister, but I could try to save someone else’s daughter, sister, or sibling. I could be there for them. That’s why I’m so empathetic and passionate about what I do.”
Aryeh isn’t afraid to be open about his personal struggles. In addition to telling his sister’s story, he also posts about going to funerals for children who sadly didn’t make it. He wants people to see the reality of the situation.
“It’s not easy whether I do it once or a million times,” he said. “I see a child suffering. It’s a horrible thing; you see what families go through. It’s really tough, so it’s important to know it’s okay to be sad and speak to someone. I go to a therapist once a week because it’s so sad at times. It’s important to surround ourselves with people who understand.”
Even though his work might be upsetting sometimes, Aryeh wouldn’t trade it for anything else. Instead, he transforms his pain into positivity.
“I say a prayer that whatever pain a child is going through will go away,” he said. “You just can’t understand why a 3-month-old, or any child, would have cancer. All you can do is say there’s a greater plan and you’re a part of it. We’re all a part of it.”
Being part of it means treating one another with kindness and love. It doesn’t take much to do that, Aryeh said. It can start with one good deed at a time.
“It could be as simple as putting on a costume.”
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Kylie Ora Lobell is a Los Angeles-based writer as well as president of KOL Digital Marketing, where she does publicity and marketing and helps clients share their unique stories with the world.
