It is hard to believe that 2013 is just about gone. Over this past year we have seen Enoch having a noon meal every other Thursday, I can’t tell you how many diapers you have bought this past year.

We have kept lights on, paid rent, bought school books and paid tuition, help pay for prescriptions and food for Shabbat. Along the way we have help supply food for those who have lost loved ones this past year as well as made numerous trips to the hospital to either take some one for an appointment or to bring some candy to someone recovering from surgery and The elderly have received blankets for winter.

We have painted bedroom, built kitchen cabinets and installed screens on window. We have fixed water leaks and replaced light fixtures for those that don’t have the knowledge or the money to have it repaired; we have even helped one of the local schools with repairs and building maintenance.

Over the year we have helped widows, orphans and holocaust survivors, the blind and deaf, single moms and the working poor. A local residential school for troubled teenage girls has seen the fruit of your giving through gift bags of personal hygiene items, tasty goodies and art supplies. They have received room fans for the summer and recently received blankets for the winter.

And Yet with all that the need is still great. In a recent article published in the Jerusalem Post, “According to research done by the Bank of Israel, 21 percent of Israel lives below the poverty line. Isolate Jerusalem, and that number goes up to 41%.

While Israel has been largely resistant to the effects of the worldwide economic crisis, the fact remains that it has the highest poverty rate in the developed world, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Home to 10% of the Jewish state’s eight million people, Jerusalem alone hosts about 4% of the country’s population living below the poverty line”.

Thank you for your love and support over this past year. As you can tell by this recent report the need is still great and your help equally as needed to continue our ability to bring the Hope For Sderot it so desperately needs. We invite your you to join us in our effort.. you can click here to get started.