A new organization is dedicated to rebuilding shattered lives, one child at a time.

They refer to her as Doda Marlene. Without fail, Marlene Kolangi, founder of Israel Orphans of 10/7, speaks to every single one of the orphaned children that her organization is helping every Erev Shabbat. “It’s a conversation,” she said, “not a casual check-in but a warm interaction.”

That dedication was on display at a recent parlor meeting held in a Teaneck home to support the mission of Glowing Forward/Israel Orphans of 10/7. Kolangi, the driving force behind the organization, discussed its mission of supporting children who have lost both parents due to the horrific attacks of October 7. She described how she and her team work to ensure these children’s financial security and emotional well being, by fostering a sense of family and security. In recent months the team has expanded its services to include children who have lost one parent, nearly tripling the number of children in their care. To date, they have identified 106 orphaned children, with 38 on the wait-list; 41 who have lost both parents.

Kolangi, a single mother with a daughter in seminary in Israel, was inspired to take on the task of helping these children begin to rebuild their lives again. She knew it would mean emotional, social and financial support. On one of her visits to Israel, with the help of local and state agencies, Kolangi went from house to house to begin the process of identifying these children and what they needed. As she found more and more orphans from that terrible day, she began to understand that the need was much greater than just finances and resources— although they certainly need those, as the financial assistance from the government is not nearly enough.

A third of the children have lost both parents, and in some cases, siblings and grandparents who might normally have stepped in to help raise them. Many of the children either witnessed these horrific events and/or emerged from hiding to find themselves alone with no family to greet them— now or ever. They are still in shock and deeply need loving care to regain trust and confidence in the world around them.

Israel Orphans of 10/7 sees this deep need and seeks to give meaningful support. The organization has already opened a play therapy center in Ofakim, where children can go to begin to be children again. Ofakim suffered terrible loss of life, young and old, including EMT ambulance driver Aharon Haimov, age 25, who was murdered by terrorists while responding to the emergency there.

The organization plans to open two additional centers in 2025, to provide a safe and healing space offering vital emotional support. They have also already helped plan eight smachot and plan to fund nine upcoming bar and bat mitzvahs. “Project Emma,” the brainchild of bat mitzvah celebrant Emma Nagel of Los Angeles, is already underway to focus on these events for the orphans by engaging other bnei mitzvah.

Kolangi described hearing a sobering eulogy delivered by Matan, a teenager and eldest child in his family, at the funeral of his parents, promising them that he would take care of his younger siblings. When she was in Israel, she sought him out and went to see him in person, telling him, “This is not on you Matan; it’s our job to take care of you!” She asked him to allow the organization to be there for him, assuring him that he and his siblings were not alone. She said Matan responded, “Your message is the first one that gave me the most comfort.”

Kolangi closed the parlor meeting by appealing to the hearts of every parent there: “This is how I would want my child to be treated and taken care of if they were in the position of any one of these orphans. As a global community, we share a Torah ethic to care for orphans and widows and part of that responsibility is to find out what they truly need and do our best to provide it.”

The Teaneck event was hosted by Naomi and Kenny Schiff, Sari and Robby Schiff, Rachel and Azi Mandel, Deena and Mendy Segal, Eliza and Moshe Skoczylas, Terri and Yitzi Karasick, Chaviva and RonnieWeinblut and Elana and Brian Ladenheim.

Israel Orphans of 10/7 is the Jewish community’s shaliach in this urgent and essential task of caring for these orphaned children. The need is great: One and a half million dollars is being raised right now to care for their needs and to build healing therapy centers.

Donations in the U.S. are tax deductible through Gardens Jewish Experience, Inc. DBA: Israel Orphans of 10/7, with tax ID: 35-2417359.

Please donate now to help raise $1.5 million this week by donating via the website at www.charidy.com/glowingforward.

For more information, visit www.israelorphans10-7.org.