Selfless Couple Donates $100,000 To Fund New Building - WMDT 47 News - Delmarva's Choice

MILLSBORO, Del. - Irv Levin and Phyllis Levin are the donors of the new Chimes building in Millsboro.

"I think of it as...it's good to see what good our money is doing when we're able to; when we're alive," said Irv Levin.      

Irv is a board member of Chimes. But he is also a father, one who directly understands the struggles for people living with disabilities.  His 40-year-old son Jamie has epilepsy.    

When Jamie was two, Irv witnessed his son experience his first seizure, categorized as a grand mal seizure.

"He was laying on the bed listless.  He wasn't moving, he wasn't breathing.  It scared me and I though, 'what's the matter with him? He's not smiling, he's not laughing. He's not saying anything and he's not doing anything,'" said Levin.    

According to Mayo Clinic, a grand mal seizure is caused by "abnormal electrical activity throughout the brain, occurring because of health problems or if a person has epilepsy."  People who have a grand mal feature a loss of consciousness and violent muscle contractions. 

Jamie is entering his 10th year in the Chimes program in Newark.  He goes five times a week and is working, which Irv says is going well.

"I could have put my money in Newark where my son goes, he might get more advantage out of it but it's not just about him it's about all of our people."

He added that the decision to donate was an easy one.

This new building allows Chimes to work with 70 people with disabilities, teaching them to socialize and earn money.