Amid winter weather, NGO rallies to provide food, heating to needy Shoah survivors
The association has now called on the public to assist so that it can expand its assistance to as many in need as possible.
By LIDAR GRAVÉ-LAZIUpdated: DECEMBER 31, 2016 23:14An elderly Holocaust survivor enjoys a warm meal thanks to the Association for Immediate Help for Holocaust Survivors(photo credit: Courtesy)
The Association for Immediate Help for Holocaust Survivors has started a campaign to provide food and heating to impoverished survivors during the cold winter months.“We were appalled to hear from Holocaust survivors who said they had to choose between buying food and heating their home,” volunteers from the organization explained.The association began the emergency operation last week and aims to distribute food vouchers totaling some NIS 1,000 to as many needy Holocaust survivors as well as financial assistance to pay for their electricity bills this winter.The organization was established some nine years ago to provide immediate assistance for Holocaust survivors, from organizing holiday Seders for lone survivors to assisting with the day-to-day needs of impoverished survivors and is run solely by volunteers without engaging in ongoing fund-raising efforts.To date, the majority of the funding for the winter operation has come from the pockets of the association’s volunteers themselves and as such is limited to lone Holocaust survivors of concentration camps, ghettos, and death marches, who have no children to care for them.The association has now called on the public to assist so that it can expand its assistance to as many in need as possible.The association is in need of both financial donations as well as volunteers, including those who can answer phones at the organization’s office in Ramat Gan.Volunteers can contact the Association by phone at (03) 525-7888, email at Help1945@gmail.com, or via its Facebook page: www.facebook.com/aihhs.