Hydrotherapy, multisensory rooms and inclusive playgrounds are among the special-needs services implemented by Israel’s Beit Issie Shapiro (BIS) as a model for Israel and beyond. In recognition of its leading role, the Ra’anana-based nonprofit recently won special consultative status from the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) — one of only 12 Israeli organizations to earn this standing.

The designation will allow the 32-year-old BIS — named Israel’s most effective nonprofit organization — to share its research and solutions more widely, and to assist ECOSOC in serving as the central forum for formulating economic and social policy recommendations to the UN and member states concerning people with disabilities.