|
Dear Friends,
Last
Tuesday, laden with supplies and hugs from the YOZMA community,
volunteers led by Lior Zagury (our in-house recreational
leader) and Yossi Aud (YOZMA's Executive Director) spent
the entire day and into the evening visiting the families
in the bomb shelters throughout the North of Israel; to
Tzfat, Naharia, Haifa, and elsewhere (while hearing the
shells falling all around). Bearing gifts and greetings
from the YOZMA school children, they visited soldiers
on the front lines and wounded comrades recuperating in
Ziv Medical Center in Tzfat. Our intention was to strengthen
their resolve, and yet our resolve was strengthened. The
experience was emotional, difficult and rewarding, while
also being enormously frustrating confronting our incapacity
to meet the basic needs of these families, suddenly thrust
into impossible circumstances.
Two
of our central observations were:
-
We were awed by the courage and perseverance of the
mothers and women we met. They carry most of the responsibility
and weight of daily management inside the bomb shelters,
caring for the children amidst significant lack of basic
supplies. They are the unsung heroes. The media and
the resources are focused on the children and the military,
while these women of valor are overlooked and left virtually
unsupported.
-
The personal connection we made was extraordinary –
as unsolicited "ordinary" citizens of Central
Israel – visiting shelter after shelter distributing
greetings and supplies, unconditional support, an attentive
ear and a comforting shoulder. This person-to-person
interaction was heartfelt by the families we visited
and deeply moving to our volunteers as well.
As YOZMA continues to receive many donations and supplies
from our local members and community, we are planning
our next convoys to the North. In order to more efficiently
provide the greatest direct support where it is most
needed we are focusing our resources and energies to
prioritize our call for donations to very specific supplies
to ease the burden on the women in the bomb shelters.
| Therefore
we have announced an immediate campaign for items
that they indicated are lacking and essential. |
Baby
products
(disposable diapers, powdered formula, jars of baby
food, wipes, bottles, portable tubs, etc) |
$5000 |
Cosmetics
& Feminine Hygiene products
(sanitary pads, tampons, hand creams, body
moisturizer, lip balm, shampoos, conditioners, soaps,
etc.)
|
$4000 |
Basic
Appliances for the bomb shelters
(kettles,
televisions, radios, fans, etc)
|
$7000 |
Children’s
Entertainment
(crafts materials, workbooks, musical tapes,
etc.)
|
$2000 |
| Transportation
and distribution |
$5000 |
We
count on your timely response to this appeal. During these
trying hours, we especially recall that “Kol Yisrael arevim
ze la’zeh” - All of Israel is responsible for each other.
All help is appreciated to acquire enough supplies for
us to dispense at each bomb shelter we can find to visit.
You may also wire money directly to YOZMA’s account:
Beneficiary
/ Account Name: Kehillat YOZMA
Local
Bank Location: Modi’in, Israel
Swift
Number: L U M I I L I T 6 8 0
Account
Number: 1 1 3 6 7 / 0 9
Earmarked donations can also be made via the link
on our YOZMA website: www.yozma.org.il
With
prayers for peace,
Rabbi Kinneret Shiryon
and Kehillat YOZMA, the Progressive Jewish community in
Modi'in
|
|
