Holiday gift to Sderot: 20,000 Purim packages
Hundreds of schools, organizations, companies and individuals send love, smiles and Purim packages to Sderot, Gaza-vicinity communities this holiday
Mission accomplished! Exactly a month after web-surfers joined together to “Send a Smile to Sderot”, Ynet and Ruach Tova representatives on Wednesday delivered the lovingly prepared Purim packages and holiday wishes to southern Israel’s beleaguered residents.
Starting early Wednesday morning, trucks provided by “Dror Movers” began the long trek to southern Israel, armed with 20,000 Purim baskets for local residents. Volunteers then distributed these packages to local residents, making their holiday that much brighter.
Hundreds of caring organizations and individuals came together during the last month in order to make this Purim a slightly more joyous holiday for residents living under constant threat of rocket attacks.
As part of project “Send a Smile to Sderot”, well-wishes and Purim packages arrived in the Qassam weary city and other Gaza vicinity communities from all across the country—schools, youth groups and even businesses—and even from Jewish communities abroad.
First prize goes to….
Our most generous surfers, who sent over 1,200 Purim packages to Sderot, are two members of the Misgav Regional Council who stumbled across the project on the Ynetnews website and decided to pitch in…and then some.Dana Amir, who spearheaded this volunteer effort, decided that it was best to start by appealing to various educational institutions. “I forwarded an invitation to all the schools, kindergartens and day-care centers within our council, and every single one of them pitched right in,” she stated. “All in all the various schools and kindergartens put together over 1,200 Purim baskets for southern residents.”
Each basket sent to Sderot and other communities also included a special message from Misgav’s students, who also prepared a banner reading “Happy Purim” to go with the care packages. “We even received numerous packages after the deadline for delivery had passed,” said Amir.
Meir Fachima, a Nahariya resident, and local pet store owner, sent over 800 Purim packages to Sderot. “I remember what happened to us during the Second Lebanon War, and how people kept sending us care packages. I just wanted to be on the giving end this time,” he said.
Fachima stated that he “knows the town’s residents really well” and so he quickly spread the word about the project, turning his pet store into a collection spot for the Purim packages. “On Sunday a big truck came by to haul all these packages down to Sderot,” he noted.
More generous contributors to this project were the Sirkin Mall in Petah Tikva led by CEO Tzvika Rosenthal , the Sadot School in Beit Hashmonai, The Rabin school in Gan Yavne, The Open University, the Amit Organization and the Hebrew Reali School in Haifa.
Whereas most donations came from schools and other educational institutions, contributions also came from major players in the business world like the Israeli Medical Association, the Avner Insurance Corporation, Netvision, Amdocs Ltd, Intel, Leumi Card and 013 Barak.
Kobi Nahshoni contributed to this article
