b'NOACH BRAUN Noach Braun is a man of peace who started his career during a time of warusing dogs for military purposes.An animal lover since childhood, Noach grew up on a kibbutz and later worked for the Nature Reserve Authorities. PHOTO CREDIT: ELI BEN BOHERIn the late 1980s, at age 26, he turned his efforts to realizing his dream of training dogs for their noblest endeavorto provide another pair of eyes for people with visual impairment and blindness.Through Israels Consulate Offices, Noach was introduced to Norman Leventhal, a U.S. resident and Lions Club Member, who provided startup resources and U.S. contacts. The two collaborated to establish the Israel Guide Dog Center for the Blind some 35 years ago. Today, the Israel Guide Dog Center for the Blind has a state-of-the-art Center, which includes everything from spacious dog runs, whelping kennels, and a veterinary clinic, to a fragrance garden and a student center that has six bedrooms, lounge, staff rooms, dining room, and lecture hall.Manned by over 45 full- and part-time employees, the Center also hosts many events that allow the sighted and the sightless to interact. The Center, privately financed through donations from around the world, has helped hundreds of blind people in Israel lead independent, productive lives by giving them guide dogs free of charge. Not content with helping the blind with guide dogs, Noach and his wife, Orna, have found other ways to improve the lives of the visually impaired.Their organization started a tandem bike club where sighted volunteers ride with visually impaired bikers to different parts of Israel each week, as well as a rowing club where the sightless enjoy navigating lakes and rivers together.In 2012, the Center expanded its focus and formalized a program to provide puppies that were not selected for guide dog training, as Service Companions, to blind children, autistic children, soldiers with PTSD, people who are deaf, and others with special needs.Noach and Orna realized that they were able to help a whole new group of people and ensure that every puppy that they raise goes on to have a productive life and serve a useful purpose. Not many 26-year-olds find ways to change the world, but Noach did precisely that. More importantly, Noach had the ability to inspire others to share his vision and dream of making the world a better place.'