Editor’s Note: The Jewish Link is pleased to present our annual End of Year Giving section to highlight the many incredible organizations that serve our communities. Their efforts and programs enrich our lives, but they can only continue with our support. As the year winds down, consider donating to some of these worthwhile charities. Tizku l’mitzvot!
Yashar LaChayal: Straight to the Soldier
From its inception during the 2006 Second Lebanon War, Yashar LaChayal has been providing humanitarian support for Israeli soldiers.
Whether it’s tactical gear or personal-care items or support for bereaved and injured troops and their families, Yashar LaChayal (Straight to t he Soldier) funnels every dollar donated toward needs identified by IDF social-services and supply officers. All operational costs are covered separately by a donor family.
Wartime has brought new challenges to our organization. We are meeting them every day with the help of contributions, including new warehouse space in Modi’in generously provided by the Orian logistics services company.
Yashar LaChayal recently inaugurated its 38th “Pinah Chamah” (Warm Corner). These shelters, located at the entrance to communities in dangerous regions from the North to the South, provide a place for combat soldiers on patrol in the area to rest and refuel themselves and their phones. Local volunteers staff these Warm Corners to show appreciation for the brave men and women of the IDF.
Since October 7, Yashar LaChayal has donated $2.7 million worth of goods of 113 types— from winter gloves to walkie-talkies, instant soup to sleeping bags, medical gear to mattresses —to over 300 IDF units all over Israel.
At our operations center in Ra’anana, several volunteers track inventory and send out lists of the gear available. When requests are received, the volunteers ensure there is no duplication and then send the order to our warehouse.
Warehouse volunteers pack up the orders and drive them in their own cars and in trucks wherever they are needed — sometimes over 30 deliveries per day to different units stationed at the Northern and Southern borders.
We are also donating goods to thousands of civilians displaced from their homes and currently sheltering in hotels in the Dead Sea, Eilat, Mevaseret Zion and Jerusalem. Much of this merchandise comes from factory owners in the Syrian Jewish communities of Flatbush and Deal.
The war is ongoing and intense, requiring us to step up our efforts and bring our soldiers and civilians many kinds of essential items to nurture bodies and souls in a difficult time.
To see a complete list of items donated by Yashar LaChayal since October 7, visit https://yasharlachayal.org/inside-raised-money/ . To find out more and to donate, click here. https://yasharlachayal.org/donate/
SINAI Schools
Serving students with a wide range of complex developmental, learning, social and emotional disabilities for over 40 years, SINAI Schools is truly a lifeline for children who often have spent time in day school or public school settings where their needs were not being met.
SINAI provides a top-level special education for these children, operating eight schools throughout New Jersey and New York. Each school is integrated within a partner day school or high school, maximizing opportunities for social and academic inclusion within the broader school community.
SINAI goes to great lengths to create a highly individualized plan for each student to address his or her social, emotional and academic needs. With a professional-to-student ratio of 1:1.2 and the multitude of specialized services and therapies SINAI provides, SINAI’s highly individualized special education comes at an enormous cost. Without broad community support, SINAI would be out of reach for many families.
Your support can make an enormous difference. For more information, please contact Clarice Itshakov, Senior Development Associate, at [email protected] or 201.833.1134 x105.
AMIT
Founded in 1925, AMIT educates 40,000 children in 87 schools, youth villages, vocational schools and junior colleges across 29 Israeli cities. 70% of AMIT students come from socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. AMIT enables these children to dream big and help levels the playing field by providing the highest quality education, additional tutoring hours, emotional support and encouragement, and cutting-edge teaching techniques. For more information, please visit www.amitchildren.org .
The Bayit Association
The Bayit Association is a new local organization that was started by a small group of Northern New Jersey parents who saw the need for kosher, shomer Shabbos housing for young adults in their community with developmental disabilities (DD). The Bayit Association has purchased two homes, and renovations are nearing completion on the first home. All programming will be administered by Ohel, an organization with decades of experience running kosher, shomer Shabbos group homes.
Although the cost of programming is paid through government agencies, The Bayit Association must raise the money to purchase and renovate homes. The Bayit Association has a goal of $2 million or more to complete the renovations on their first two homes. To support The Bayit Association of New Jersey, go to their donation site: https://tinyurl.com/bayitnow . Or go to www.bayitnj.org and click on the “Donate Now” button on top.
You can also mail a gift to: The Bayit Association / PO Box 3131 / Teaneck, NJ 07666.
Our Tax ID No: 86-1535722. For those wishing to donate through a donor-advised fund, the Bayit Assoc. have been vetted and approved by the Jewish Communal Fund and Fidelity Charitable.
Kaplen JCC on the Palisades
In the wake of the horrific massacre of October 7, the Kaplen JCC established the Community Response Campaign, which supports essential programs and services for Israeli families displaced by the terrorist attack and the aftermath. The JCC established the Heart to Heart program, which provides educational activities and critical mental health services to over 150 Israeli families temporarily staying in our community.
Now, more than ever, we know the purpose of a Jewish community center. We need to support our community today, so that we are stronger for what comes tomorrow. Your support here will reverberate throughout the world, as we stand together to strengthen Jewish life wherever it exists.
Daily Giving
Are you looking for a way to make a difference in the world? Do you want to give back and make a positive impact on the lives of others? If so, we invite you to check out www.DailyGiving.org and join the Daily Giving family.
Daily Giving is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the power of daily kindness and generosity. Through Daily Giving, you can give as little as $1 a day to a different vetted Jewish organization, every single day. In other words, you can guarantee the mitzvah of giving tzedaka on a daily basis.
There are countless causes that need your support. Between organizations that support children with terminal illnesses and those that offer food for those who cannot afford it, it can be difficult to narrow your giving to a single area. That’s where Daily Giving comes in. Your tzedaka is given to a diverse portfolio of Jewish charities. As a result, you’re automatically supporting charities in a variety of sectors, just by being a Daily Giver.
By itself, a dollar a day doesn’t go so far. But when combined with over 12,000 givers, a dollar a day can cause waves of impact. We believe that no act of kindness is too small, and that every individual has the ability to make a positive impact on the world around them. Thank God, at this moment, we are giving almost $18,000 to a different Jewish charity every single day. That’s over $6.5 million a year! 100 cents of every dollar donated goes to our beneficiary organizations. Daily Giving takes nothing.
At Daily Giving, we rely on the support of givers like you to help us make a difference in the world. Your donations allow us to fund Jewish nonprofits that promote kindness and generosity and make a positive impact on all of klal Yisrael.
We invite you to join us as we spread kindness, compassion and generosity to those around us. Together, we can make a difference in the world, one dollar at a time. Please come and join us at
www.DailyGiving.org
HASC
HASC is a non-profit agency, which provides a wide range of supportive services to children with special needs. HASC continues to provide high quality education and therapeutic services to children with special needs. Families are an integral component of our education process and we are guided by creativity, compassion and motivation as we strive to make a world of difference in the lives of our children.
Home- and center-based services are available. They include: special education, speech, occupational and physical therapies, psychological services, parent workshops and service coordination. Center-based services include: half day program (morning or afternoon), small groups, free transportation, cholov Yisroel breakfast and snacks, adaptive computer use, assistive technology, music and animal therapy.
Early intervention, preschool or school-age programs are available at either the Boro Park-Brooklyn, Spring Valley-Rockland County or Woodmere-Nassau County locations.
Visit https://www.hasc.net or call 845-356-0191 to find out more .
Just One Life
Two months have passed since the invasion into southern Israel by Hamas. Hundreds of babies and children were slaughtered. The Jewish world can never forget that. More than 350,000 soldiers have left their homes to go south and north to protect and fight for Israel.
The Jewish world can also not forget that 200,000 Israeli families have been displaced and moved toward Jerusalem and Eilat. Many women were pregnant and expecting to give birth. The worldwide Jewish community must be there for these families. Just One Life (USA) Nefesh Achat B’Yisrael (Israel) is there for those displaced families where the women are pregnant or recently gave birth.
Over the last two months Just One Life has received and is assisting with social services and financial aid to over 200 women who have given birth from these displaced families. See the letter below from Chaya Katzin Just One Life director of social work in Jerusalem.
Just One Life workers are strained beyond the capacity offering social services and allocating tens of thousands of dollars to displaced families for their financial needs and to families whose husbands are on the battlefront and have not been at work for two months and need financial assistance.
These babies, these children, these families should not be forgotten. They are in crisis, displaced and struggling. Most are living in hotels without their basic necessities and everything left behind.
We have never experienced this and it is our time to step up and support Israel’s most important needs—its children. A special campaign page to donate has been set up:
www.onebabychaifund.com . The children of Israel thank you in advance.
Passaic Torah Institute
Make a real difference in the future of Klal Yisrael. Yeshiva Ner Boruch – Passaic Torah Institute (PTI) is a yeshiva of continuing education for adults who are looking to grow in their Yiddishkeit. We offer dozens of learning programs throughout the week for men and women, day or night and at multiple levels – from the complete novice with no background to the advanced scholar. For decades, PTI has been responsible for enriching the lives of thousands of Jews and their families.
PTI is unique among yeshivas in that they make deep, rigorous learning accessible to everyone regardless of background, rather than providing a watered-down version. It is a truly immersive experience.
We invite you to join us at PTI! We’ll find a shiur that meets you where you’re at and takes you to the next level – you belong in yeshiva! To learn more or to donate, please go to: https://pti.shulcloud.com or call Rabbi Bodenheim at (862) 371-3186.
JSU/OU
Across the country, Jewish teens in public school are facing an unprecedented wave of antisemitism. Now, more than ever, they yearn for a sense of unity—a safe place where they can identify and grow in their Jewish pride. JSU provides that place in nearly 50 high schools throughout New York and New Jersey.
Join us as we embark on an urgent campaign to provide more clubs, more resources and more identity at a time when our teens need us the most. Stand with our teens and let them know they’re not alone. Unite against antisemitism as one nation.
See QR code below to contribute. Thank you so much in advance for your generous donation.
