Hi! We are excited to be fundraising for the Dream Israel program by supporting the Sderot Indoor Recreation Center, located less than one mile from Gaza. As many of you know, I (Eliza) will be spending a quarter of the school year in Israel at the Alexander Muss High School, a study abroad program for high school students. I will be fundraising along side my friend, Sydney Grunfeld.

The Dream Israel program is through the Jewish National Fund (JNF). The funds that we raise will benefit the Sderot Indoor Recreation Center. Families living on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip have been under fire for more than ten years. Never knowing when the next rocket attack will occur, they must always be within 15 seconds of a bomb shelter. The Jewish National Fund Indoor Recreation Center has brought a sense of normalcy to children in the region – outfitted with a rock- climbing wall, soccer field, computer labs, dance studio and more. It has been retrofitted with 300 tons of steel so children can be safe in play areas that double as bomb shelters.

The safety, mental and physical well being of the children of this community is very much dependent on our support of Sderot Indoor Recreation Center. We very much appreciate your support of this important fundraising effort. JNF will also award a grant toward Eliza's studies at the Alexander Muss High School in Israel if we meet our fundraising goal.

Thank you all so much!
Eliza Castello and Sydney Grunfeld