We look to you, our faithful donors, to help us with this newly launched campaign. Any donation is greatly appreciated, of course. A donation of $36.00 will cover the costs of a month’s supply baby formula for 5 babies. But your involvement in our campaign is just as important. This is a grassroots campaign, where people give what they can and spread the word to their friends, family and co-workers (take a look at the tools in the Tell Your Friends section.) Even better, you can easily set up your own branch campaign customized for your own network of contacts by hitting the Create a Branch Campaign button above. By helping to raise money for this Baby Drive you will be carrying on the tradition of caring for others as commanded in the Bible (Deuteronomy 10:17-19).

We look forward to hearing from you and thank you in advance for all your help. Please feel free to visit our website at www.karmeyhesed.org/english

Today’s society places much value on assisting the downtrodden and poor. At the same time, we are all concerned about the future of our environment. Our Green Charity Program combines the two concerns by providing families with much needed appliances and furniture while promoting environment awareness.

We look to you, our faithful donors, to help us with this newly launched Pesach Drive. Just imagine what happiness a new couch or refurbished oven can bring to these families before the holiday. Financial assistance by way of our food coupons will provide thousands of needy individuals with all they need to make a joyful Pesach seder. Any donation is greatly appreciated, of course. But your involvement in our campaign is just as important. This is a grassroots campaign, where people give what they can and spread the word to their friends, family and co-workers (take a look at the tools in the Tell Your Friends section.) Even better, you can easily set up your own branch campaign customized for your own network of contacts by hitting the Create a Branch Campaign button above.

We look forward to hearing from you and thank you in advance for all your help. Please feel free to visit our website at www.karmeyhesed.org/english

We hope all our wonderful sponsors enjoyed a healthy Pesach holiday with their families and friends. We are looking forward to hearing from you once again and suggest you check out our new Baby Drive on http://www.rootfunding.com/campaign/karmey-chesed-baby-drive-2012.

Rabbi Weingarten, who is the director of Karmey Chesed, is always alert to the needs of the people in his neighborhood and all across the country. After Pesach, he was informed of a family who was in a difficult situation. Yossi, the father of many children, who had always been self employed as a Sofer Stam, had taken ill and could not continue to work for awhile. At the same time, their old refrigerator had broken down and could not be repaired. With nowhere else to turn, his wife came to Karmey Chesed for help. We immediately jumped into action. Food coupons were distributed so the family could have food on the table. A used refrigerator in good condition was sought and because of the Karmey Chesed Green Charity Fund, where used appliances are collected and recycled, it took only three days for a large refrigerator to be delivered and installed. This family is still in need of our help but a huge burden has been lifted from its shoulders.

In another incident, a Jerusalem family which had been falling into terrible financial debt for some time, had finally reached rock bottom. After many years of trying to conceive, Chaim and his wife had given up and decided to adopt a baby. Unfortunately, the boy turned out to be problematic in many ways and has not brought this couple much nachas. He has been in and out of institutions, has undergone years of psychological therapy and has not been able to hold onto a job of any sort. Chaim, now aged 60, suffers from Diabetes He is in a wheelchair, requires insulin shots and many other medical services. His wife is a sweet woman who has suffered tremendously over the years and is in a terrible state, but she tries her best to watch over her family and small apartment. Karmey Chesed has taken the family under its wing. Food coupons and prescription drugs are distributed on a consistent basis. A Karmey Chesed volunteer drives Chaim to the Kupat Cholim when necessary and a new pair of shoes with special orthopedic innersoles (orthodics) has been purchased for Chaim so can begin to walk again on his own. Without the intervention of Karmey Chesed, this family would not have survived intact.

With Karmey Chesed’s reputation of kindness and giving, families and individuals know they can turn to Karmey Chesed and receive the help they need while keeping their dignity and self-respect.

Please help us to continue our good work. Click on www.karmeyhesed.org/english and make a donation. And please pass the word to your friends and relations.

Thank you
R. Aryeh Weingarten

Praise the Lord?

Each year the debate renews itself. Do we say ‘Halel” or not on Yom Haatzmaut. When we think of the miriacle of the return of Jewish soveriegnty over the land of Israel, how can we be anything but thankful.

At the same time, we see the problems… Gush Katif comes to mind, infighting, desicration of Shabbat, and of course the poverty of not only the poor, but of the working class as well. The list goes on.

And yet, this morning I could not help myself but to be thankful, and YES! Say Halel, in thanks for the fact that we have a system, run by Jews in the Jewish Homeland, the Holy land, the land of Israel! that addresses these issues. By the Jews, of the Jews, For the Jews! Yes, we are not there yet. There is alot that needs repair but we are on our way. Heleluyah!

Although economic conditions have improved somewhat over the years, poverty is still rampant in Israel, in all sectors of the population. According to statistics released in 2011, there are over 240,000 families living below the poverty line, about one-quarter of the total number of families with children in Israel. This translates to more than 790,000 children, or one-third of the children in Israel, living in a state of deficiency and deprivation. Although Bituach Leumi (National Insurance Institute) extends assistance, it is not enough to cover the basic needs required by these families, and many continue to live primarily with the help of welfare organizations and charity funds.

In response to these increased demands, Karmey Chesed has been focusing on its Food Distribution Program. Working in conjunction with Rami Levi, one of Israel’s largest food distributors, Karmei Chesed dispenses coupons to disadvantaged families who can then shop at any of the many Rami Levi supermarkets throughout the country. Those who do not live in the Jerusalem/Beitar area, receive checks directly to their homes via the mail. On a monthly basis, approximately NIS 30,000 worth of coupons is allocated, with additional coupons given out before the Rosh Hashana and Pesach holidays.

In addition, Karmey Chesed receives notification of disadvantaged families from concerned friends, neighbors and other family members and offers them the opportunity to come to the Karmey Chesed warehouse where they can discreetly take food staples such as rice, lentils, packaged foods and canned goods. Most of these items are donated by charitable food suppliers or are purchased at discounts from local merchants. The warehouse is open most hours of the day and can be reached by bus, car or by foot. We also provide over 50 local families with challot before Shabbat.

Karmey Chesed’s poverty-relief services include an Emergency Loan Fund which helps ease the monetary burden of a family in need with small sums of money presented as cash gifts or interest-free loans. Emotional support is provided in the form of free counseling and advice, and professional psychiatric help is offered at affordable rates when required. With the understanding that proper clothing for children and adults is not only a form of dress but also provides its wearers with a sense of pride and dignity, Karmey Chesed holds several Clothing Drives throughout the year, offering used items in good condition contributed by more affluent families and name brand apparel manufacturers. In addition, free Pharmaceuticals are dispensed when needed.

Our recently initiated Green Charity Program maintains the delicate balance of supporting mankind while promoting environmental awareness through its “free cycling system.” Volunteers throughout Israel collect second-hand furniture including couches, beds, tables, closets and electrical appliances such as ovens, washing machines and refrigerators, and personally deliver them to families who could greatly benefit from them and cannot afford the purchase of even used ones.

We are eager to expand our programs to many more poor families. In 2011, Karmey Chesed helped approximately 1500 individuals and families with food baskets and food vouchers. This is not nearly enough. We would like to double our budget for the Food Distribution Program for the coming year, reaching over 3,000 poverty-stricken individuals and children. A new truck is also required in order for us to further develop our Green Charity Program.

Karmey Chesed has only one goal—to reach out to those in need and provide families in Israel with the basic foods and services necessary to maintain a decent, respectful existence in Eretz Yisrael.

Disposable Income

A friend of mine used a great metaphor the other day. We were speaking about the differences between life in Israel vs that of living in North America. He used a very thought provoking comparison. He said that here in Israel when there is no food at home it means, that’s the way it is. Not much to do but to wait until the beginning of the next month, and payday. Whereas in the US one would say, hmmm, no food at home, lets go out to eat!

No, not everyone in Israel has the “Israeli Experience” of not having food at home. In fact, the vast majority do have, and sometimes even plenty of it.

There  are however many many homes where that is very much not the case. As we have discussed before, a disposable income is something that even for the majority of Israeli families is a foriegn concept, pardon the pun.

The question of course still remains, ok, we know that, but what can we do about it?

Sweet Apples

Have you ever wondered what would be the one single ingredient to a better life? What is the one thing that one can keep doing to make their lives that much better, that much easier?

Well, I had a thought this morning. Given that its Tu Bishvat, The Jewish new year for trees, I got to thinking about trees. Well actually, I got to thinking about why G-D made it that the fruits on a tree are for the most part above the ground, above our heads. And then I thought,well, one sec, Tu Bishvat is about “fruits” of the ground as well, just think about tomatoes, cucumbers, wheat and the like.

Barring a few exceptions, it seems to me though that the sweetest of G-D’s nutritious gifts to humanity are the fruits above ground. That is, the ones we have to look up to see and pick. The less sweet things, the vegies, are on the ground. All we have to do is look down and there they are, ready to pick, ready to eat.

Looking down is always easier. Seeing the negative as they say. Its not always easy to look up, to see the positive, and yes, sometimes we have to climb a bit to get there, to grab the fruit, but the prize is always the sweetest!

Happy Tu BiShvat!

The divorce rate has stabilized among the middle class but is increasing among the poor, explaining why many separated fathers pay little or no child support.

Divorce

A new study reveals that financial hardship is a major cause of family breakdown. Low-income parents are more likely than others to break up – and they remain poor after the split.

Most of the 700,000 fathers registered with the Child Support Agency pay little child support because their incomes are very low, says the study published in People and Place, the journal of Monash University’s Centre for Population and Urban Research.

More than 40 per cent of the separated fathers in 2001 had a taxable income of less than $15,600. Most were unemployed or in marginal jobs. Overall, despite general economic prosperity, nearly 68 per cent of the separated fathers had incomes of less than $32,000.

As a result, their former partners also experienced desperate financial circumstances. Three-quarters of the mothers were raising children on annual incomes of less than $15,600 plus $2000 to $3000 in family tax benefits.

The study says an estimated 90 per cent of separated parents are registered with the agency. Unless registered, women cannot get the federal government parenting payment.

The study says an estimated 90 per cent of separated parents are registered with the agency. Unless registered, women cannot get the federal government parenting payment. Continued…