We hope everyone is keeping well and staying safe.
We continue to devote our resources to meeting the needs of families affected by the war, as well as those of English speakers in Israel.
The response from ESRA members and supporters to our urgent appeal for funds to provide families with emergency financial aid has been truly exceptional! Thank you so much! We are providing immediate and vital emergency financial support directly to families who have suffered tremendous personal loss, whose members have been called into the military incurring loss of income, and to families forced to evacuate their homes on both Israel’s northern and southern borders.
We’d like to share one example, which makes us so proud of ESRA….
We received a request on Tuesday from the Sderot Welfare Department on behalf of 28 families in the city, each of which has suffered a bereavement due to the war. The families are experiencing immediate financial difficulties. ESRA is almost uniquely placed to assist, as our Welfare Fund has been operating successfully for many years and the procedures are fully computerized. Within a few minutes, we were able to approve a grant of NIS 2,000 for each family – financial first aid to help tide them over. The money was transferred the very next day to each family’s bank account.
Volunteering activity such as the ESRA English Tutoring program, is providing online education reinforcement for schoolchildren grades 3-12. Within one week, we expanded this activity from 60 volunteers to 130! Eighty of these volunteer tutors have been assigned to work with the children of evacuated families that are temporarily placed in hotels in Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv, Netanya and Haifa.
And…
This week, 2,747 English speakers engaged, free of charge, in ESRA activities and services, including:
Personal Support: 924 advanced age English speakers from the south received a phone call from trained ESRA volunteers, to help combat loneliness and assess how we can assist them, while our social workers work toward strengthening peoples’ resilience and offering emotional support for coping with challenges.
Information hotline: Our 24/7 emergency line provided 75 English speakers with vital information and guidance to help them understand more clearly and positively what to do, reducing tension and increasing knowledge.
Enrichment: 487 benefited from daily online events and stress-relief activities for the whole family, with top professionals.
Based on our understanding of the situation, we are expanding our services and activities to meet immediate needs as well as preparing for long-term recovery. ESRA works closely with official authorities for effectively reaching those with the most immediate needs for aid and support.
With best wishes, and hoping for a speedy conclusion to these dark days,
