VOLUNTEER FOR ISRAEL

MY RECENT TRIP TO ISRAEL
By Jay Steinmetz
New York Metro Region President 2019-2021

As some of you may know, our daughter, son-in-law and three beautiful grandchildren live in Efrat, Israel. My wife Michele and I have made numerous visits to them over the past 10 years. Most of our past trips in addition to seeing our kids and grandchildren always incorporated a sightseeing type excursion to see the history and wonderful places that Israel has to offer.

But this trip was different…October 7th changed our mindset and reason to visit Israel.

Michele and I spent almost three weeks there, returning back in the states on Feb. 9th, and we needed to do something to support the many Israelis who were forced out of their homes and were in desperate need of assistance. We couldn’t just make this trip a “visit”. We wanted to do something more meaningful and we were on a mission.

After scouring the internet for places to volunteer in Israel, I came upon an organization called Pantry Packers. This is a division of and supported by Colel Chabad. This is a relatively small but very active warehouse tucked away in a nondescript area of Jerusalem called Ramat Rachel. Pantry Packers invites volunteers from all over the world to help package food to be delivered to the families in need throughout Israel.

Please read Jay’s article in its entirety!