Amir Peleg, from New York to Ashdod, Israel

February 26, 2009

It's hard to reach Amir Peleg, even by cell phone.  But given his role as a medic in Ashdod, Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) ambulance corps it's a forgivable excuse.  Since moving from New York, where he volunteered as an EMT and fireman, to Israel in January 2009, Amir has been volunteering with MDA. He came to Israel during Operation Cast Lead, when life in Ashdod was radically halted because of the incoming the Kassam missiles from Gaza.  After seeing the crisis unfold across southern Israel, he felt Israel "needed him more than ever."

Just over a month since he's been here, Amir is settling into his new life at the Jewish Agency for Israel's Beit Canada (Barnea) Absorption Center, a Federation-funded facility. He's living in an apartment and feeling independent thanks to the support he receives from the absorption center staff and his role within the community. "Over the years, Israel has given me so much," says Amir. "Both my parents are Israeli. I grew up as a proud Jew, spoke Hebrew, celebrated Jewish holidays and enjoyed Israeli culture. But now, being here and helping others, I finally feel like I'm giving back to Israel and it feels great to be able to."

Although his volunteering service ends in June, Amir's considering staying in Israel afterwards. "It's so different here than in New York. The warm people make you feel like you're home." It's a recurring pattern for Amir how helpful and warm the people of Ashdod have been to him, and it's made a great impact on his life here as well.

"The people here, like the climate, are warm," he says. "A few days ago, I was walking down the street in Ashdod and a lady stopped me and asked, 'Do you remember who I am? I had trouble breathing and you came to help me. Thank you so much.' The woman then gave me her telephone number and address and invited me for Friday night dinner, insisting that I come join her and her family," Amir recalls with a smile. "It's just amazing to me to be a part of such a warm people – and giving back to them too."

Robert of Delray Beach

February 20, 2009

Robert worked part-time to subsidize the meager Social Security income that he and his wife receive.  When Robert’s wife became ill with cancer he could not leave her at home alone. He quit his job at Publix and by the end of the month he came up short.  They couldn’t afford to pay for food, prescriptions and the electric bill.  As soon as Robert asked for help from Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service, one of Federation’s four founding agencies, they immediately brought him food from its kosher food pantry; gave him Publix food coupons; assigned him a therapist, gave him a gift card to a nearby drugstore and paid his electric bill.

The Shays of Tbilisi, Georgia

February 12, 2009

During a recent study mission to the Republic of Georgia, Federation Board Chair Stewart Harris, President and CEO Bill Bernstein and Senior V.P. of Marketing Andy Rose visited the Shay Family in Tbilisi. The Shays and their two children, both girls under two, live with their grandmother in a one-room fourth-floor apartment, measuring about 350 square feet. The family shares a hallway kitchen, one bathroom and one cold-running water source with 21 other people. The Shays own a very small electric heater which is barely used because of the cost. The father works in a synagogue in Gori and is rarely home to help with the children. The mother works as a part-time teacher. Their combined income per month is about $80, barely enough to pay rent and the electric bill. The girls are enrolled in the “Children’s Initiative” program, receiving baby formula, diapers, medicine, hygiene supplies (once a year), winter relief (once a year), holiday gifts and matzah for Passover. This program is administered by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and supported by Federation dollars, making us a vital lifeline to the poorest Jews in the world.  -  To view more photos from our visit, click here.

Marianne and her children in Boca Raton

February 5, 2009

Hannah & Phil

January 29, 2009

Hannah and Phil are in their early 80s.  Last year, they received a phone call from a mortgage broker who persuaded them to refinance their King’s Point condo.  The condo was almost paid off, but they urgently needed the cash, because Phil had become ill and needed home care.

The couple could not afford the mortgage payments and were facing foreclosure.   They contacted Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service (JFS), one of Federation’s four founding agencies. JFS made a mortgage payment and arranged to keep them in their own home and staved off foreclosure.  The agency also provided Phil and Hannah with home care and case management.

Ryan Boone of Boca Raton

January 15, 2009

Ryan, 30, is an adult with developmentally disabilities who has resided at the Jewish Association for Residential Care (JARC) for the past three years. Before JARC, Ryan was completely dependent on his parents. Today, with a little coaching and a lot of love, he is leading a productive life, sharing an apartment and working for Federation Transportation Services. His mother, Cecilia, says JARC has given Ryan the sense of independence and self-worth she always dreamed of during many desperate years as a care giver. Lately, though, the declining economy has made it almost impossible for Ryan’s family to keep him at JARC. JARC understands this and, with assistance from Federation, has come to the family’s rescue: “Nobody takes care of their own like JARC and the Jewish Federation,” says Cecilia.

Shmuel Shmila, Netivot, Israel

January 8, 2009

“Angels came to visit me this morning,” recalled Shmuel Shmila from the town of Netivot, referring to the arrival of two representatives from the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), one of Federation’s international agency partners. They handed him a check from JAFI’s Fund for Victims of Terror after a rocket landed near his home and injured his daughter.

Shrapnel from the rocket struck his 31-year-old daughter, Hila. Six pieces of shrapnel penetrated her stomach and hit internal organs, and she was brought to the hospital in moderate to serious condition. The hospital staff operated on Hila and removed all the pieces of shrapnel, except for one piece which was wedged in her kidney. “They told us that the kidney would expel the piece,” Shmuel relates, “and if not, they would do an x-ray in another six months and try to remove it from the kidney.”

The house was damaged by the shrapnel. Property tax officials who came to Shmuel’s home told him that he must repair the damage and bring them receipts, and then they will reimburse him. “Then,” Shmuel continued, “two angels from the Jewish Agency knocked on the door and gave me the aid I needed. I would have thanked them even if this had been just a loan, but they told me it was a grant. They and the generous donors deserve all the credit in the world. It was truly as though angels came down from the heavens to us!”

Their daughter, Hila, is recovering from her wounds. “Thank goodness, Baruch Hashem, she feels better. She has begun recovering and we are trying to have her walk. With God’s help she will soon regain her full strength. We are looking at this from the perspective of ‘it is all for the best.’ With God’s help, all will be well. Look, the shrapnel didn’t hit our daughter in the heart, God forbid, and it was not far from there. The Kassam landed in the yard and not inside our house, thank God!”

The Victims of Terror Fund is one of many ways the UJA/Federation Campaign helps the vulnerable populations in southern Israel. Campaign dollars also stretch to thousands of others in need of life-saving and life-enhancing help throughout our Homeland, here in south Palm Beach County and in more than 70 countries worldwide.

Miriam Ezra, 72, of Sderot, Israel

January 2, 2009

Miriam is a wheelchair-bound senior who lives in Sderot, Israel, a city that has been hit with a continuous barrage of Kassam rockets from Gaza for the past several years. On Monday afternoon, a missile smashed through her living room. Fortunately, she was evacuated seven hours earlier by her son, Shlomi, who felt it was too dangerous for her to stay in the area. Miriam immediately received financial assistance from the Jewish Agency for Israel through its Victims of Terror Fund, which is supported by our Federation. The fund will help her purchase food and medical supplies and replace damaged possessions.

Solana

December 26, 2008

Solana, 24, is a single mother in Argentina who struggles to support both her parents and her son. But when three-year-old Lucio began acting out aggressively, it became increasingly difficult for Solana to leave him at home in order to go to work — and if she didn’t work her family could barely afford to eat. That’s when she knew she needed to reach out for help. Thankfully she discovered the Baby Help Center in Buenos Aires. Supported by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and funded by the Federation system, Baby Help Center provides a nurturing, safe day care environment in which Lucio receives food, toys, clothes and stimulating activities. Solana takes two buses to drop Lucio off before going to work, but says it’s well worth it. “I literally do not know what I would have done without finding Baby Help; for the last six months it has been our lifeline.”

Dror and Ilan

December 18, 2008

Dror and his younger brother, Ilan, were abandoned at the gates of an Israeli Youth Village earlier this year. Their family was poor and didn’t have means to take care of them. The village is now taking care of them and is dedicated to making sure they get an education. The director of the program said, ”We see parents are getting more desperate because of poverty and poor living conditions. Some simply do not have the means to take care of their children anymore. We hope we can compensate for what Dror and Ilan have had to endure.” Federation dollars support these youth villages and numerous other children’s programs in Israel.

Rosa, the "19th Jew"

December 11, 2008

When Russia invaded the Republic of Georgia in August, hundreds of Jews were directly impacted, including 19 residents of the small village of Tskhinvali. Having located 18 of the 19, our international agency partner, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), searched another two days for Rosa. She was 79 years old, in poor health, and they knew that there was no way she would be able to survive on her own after the invasion. After a full-scale search, they found her amidst the rubble and shambles of an apartment building. Rosa’s story is the living embodiment of the Jewish tenet: “Kol Yisrael Araveem Zeh b’ Zeh – All Jews are Responsible, One for the Other.” She now receives food, shelter, medicine and care through Federation-supported programs.

The Steins: An elderly couple's anguish

December 4, 2008

The Steins of Boca Raton have a 56-year-old daughter with special needs. Her name is Lisa and the Jewish Association for Residential Care (JARC), a beneficiary agency of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County, has cared for her since 1993. Lisa's parents, now in their mid-80s, can't afford to keep her enrolled in JARC for too much longer.Their finances are dwindling, their investments have greatly decreased in value, and they have increased medical costs that are not covered by insurance. In addition, tuition at JARC has risen 5% this year. Not only is the couple concerned about whether they are able to care for their daughter, they are additionally devastated that they may be taking away the lifestyle and programs that she has come to love. This is a couple who has lived through the Great Depression and already survives on a very modest budget with little room for compromise. JARC's Executive Director, Dr. Debra Hallow, vows that JARC will NOT let this family down, but they can only succeed with the support of our community.