Well, we are definitely at war – there are frequent fatalities and injuries, rockets are fired constantly, and sirens go off several times a day, sending you rushing to a bomb shelter.

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At the same time it is clear alongside the tremendous pain, people are motivated, resolve is high, and civilians have taken charge and are running the home front. Technology and organizations that normally take years to develop now form in days, and there are more people wishing to volunteer than there are tasks available.

Over the last 48 hours we met with more ‘hero’ groups, learned more about the evolving needs on the ground, and mapped what gaps are closed by other foundations.

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Perhaps the most impressive group we met is Achim La’Neshek, which translates to "brothers in arms." Seeing what they deal with was heartbreaking, but their spirit, commitment and contribution was exhilarating. This group, which began as a movement to protest the controversial legislation changes in the last year, shifted its focus overnight to support the nation during the war. We visited their makeshift center and saw 2,000 of Israel's brightest minds and hearts - executives, professors, students, all volunteering to help. In particular, 400 volunteers, led by the former chief of the armed forces, and a university professor, worked as a civilian command center identifying missing persons. They were deploying AI tools developed within days.

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With a better understanding of needs and logistical options, we solidified our focus, and selected groups we can trust to carry out efforts. Our main role is to find the right needs, work with the right heroes and ensure the right deployment with no overhead.

Areas of focus

We will focus on the families evacuated or fleeing from the most impacted areas, and families who stayed behind due to limited means or options who are now living in deserted towns without access to basic services. In particular:

1. Residents of the 24 southern border communities most impacted by the terror attacks, which are now evacuated and are closed military zones.
2. Residents of the southern border town of Ashkelon, Sderot and Ofakim. Those suffered the most rocket attacks and families had to flee without government support.

We intend to focus on providing:

1. Basic necessities such as food, clothing and toiletries.
2. Cellular phone replacements and laptops for educational activities.
3. Children's education and activities, on site and remote.
4. Immediate mental health support.

Hero groups that would help us execute

We do not intend to spend time or resources creating logistics, rather work with hero groups and organizations we are vetting who will execute specific projects and initiatives that we define for them in our areas of focus (we are not providing general funding to any foundation).

1. The Generals group - a private initiative led by a group of retired IDF major generals supporting the 24 communities bordering Gaza.
2. Trusted case workers in the welfare Departments of Ashkelon, Sderot and Ofakim that will be coordinated by our partners at ClearGiving.
3. The "High Tech Command" - grassroots volunteer group of high-tech executives and a civilian mutual aid group called Lev Echad.
4. Achim La'Neshek (Brothers in Arms), described above.
   

There will be other specific projects which may be executed by different partners, but these groups give us a solid ability to deploy right away.

Allocation of funds

We are constantly defining projects, some ready for deployment. As of now, we are finalizing 14 initiatives in collaboration with the civilians groups we have met over the past few days. Everything we will deploy will get to the intended needed through a trusted and vetted hero with no overhead charged.

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In my next communication I will provide an update on funds raised – I am encouraged and grateful to the commitments already made.  

Thank you everyone for your support!!!

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Sam