Update on Resilience Fund

Update on Resilience Fund

Through our partnership with KKL as our agency on the ground, as well as other organizations, your donations have contributed the following streams of relief: 
Evacuations from the south & temporary shelter 

• Evacuated more than 4,000 residents from the south, to 52 hotels and other kibbutzim in safer areas. These families left in shock, with little more than the clothes on their back.
• Provided clothing, toiletries, hygiene, and family products to all residents for over 6 weeks
• Organized more than 130 music, sport and art activities led by instructors for children and families who are displaced, keeping children busy and distracted from the realities of their situation. 

Urgent needs for 9 Gaza regions (45 communities total) 

• Provided 9 hardest-hit communities and regions with 1 million NIS ($360K CAD) for urgent needs: Ashkelon, Ofakim, Sderot, Netivot, Eshkol, Sdot Negev, Sha'ar HaNegev, Hof Ashkelon, Merhavim. 
• Urgent needs included establishing security through emergency preparedness squads, clearing dangerous debris, repairing neglected shelters, collecting and distributing food and equipment, and support for families who could not evacuate. 
• In the News: Some of these regions were not prepared for such a security breach. In Ofakim, it really wasn't top of mind that something would happen here. They saw some of the worst carnage from the terrorists. One incredible story is of the woman who managed the terrorists for hours by talking to them and offering them cookies and tea, until the police were able to reach them. 

Uninterrupted Services for Youth at Risk 

• Many youth at risk rely on JNF youth clubs for counselling support. Their counsellors have stayed in touch with them remotely, providing continued therapy and support through this traumatic period. They have also been engaged for volunteer programs: 
• Hospital visits - to cheer up the wounded patients in medical centres throughout the country.
• Support for evacuees - giving haircuts, conducting educational activities and riding lessons for children, collecting and distributing supplies and equipment, sorting donations, clearing shelters, and assisting the elderly. [Image of kids volunteering] 

Individual Resilience Projects 

Individual donors who wanted to contribute beyond the Resilience Fund have also funded bomb shelters and other security projects in the Gaza envelope: 

• Donors from the Pacific region fundraised for the Carmel Farm to install a pre-fabricated bomb shelter on the horse therapy farm, making it immediately usable for the special needs kids receiving therapy at the farm. 
• Individual donors funded the Lod Food Sustainability Center to ensure the city of Lod could maintain food security and food distribution networks for its citizens 
• Individual donors funded the renovation of a bomb shelter in Be’er Sheva so that they could be usable as soon as residents return 

JNF Canada Emergency Projects still available for funding: 

• Ofakim Community Centre - Youth, Special Needs, and Family Centres
• Ashkelon Sheltered Classrooms (2 classrooms needed)
• Apartments for Families in Hospital (20 needed)
• Be’er Sheva Bomb Shelter Upgrades (15 shelters needed) 

Read our JNF Canada Projects in Action update to see how current JNF Canada projects are playing an important role in protecting and providing for Israel's south during this crisis.