Hello! As part of going to Israel this upcoming spring, I’ve decided to also go through JNF in order to help raise funds for the Sderot Indoor Recreation Center. Living in Sderot, which boarders Gaza, children often aren’t safe to go outside and play. Instead, they must be within 15 seconds of a bomb shelter. This recreation center was built to allow children to live freely and have fun without fearing for their lives. This is immensely important to me for a number of reasons. I cannot imagine how hard life must be for these kids and teens who live their lives around rockets and bombs. This recreation center allows kids to be kids and play without fear. This also means that parents are able to relax and have far less worry whilst their children are playing. Many clubs meet in the building which provides a safe space to explore their interests. As the entire building is a bomb shelter, there is no fear on whether or not they’d make it to one in time. I cannot express how much this project means to me and how important it is for it to have proper funding.

If I meet my fundraising goal, JNF will provide me with a grant towards my own Israel travel experience, ensuring my opportunity to meet Israelis whose lives have been changed due to our support, and to explore my own connection to the land.