Gifts of Toys For Soldiers' Children

A soldier about to rush home from the front is given toys for his children

From the beginning of the war, I had been collecting and delivering equipment and food on a daily basis directly to the soldiers fighting in Gaza. I received a call from the UK about a 40foot container full of toys ready to send to Israel for children affected by the war, but the donors didn't know where to send it.

Because I had been working so closely with soldiers, I knew how tough it was for the reservists who had left their wives and young children at home. And as the weeks they were away from home grew longer and longer, miluim wives and children were struggling to get through each day on their own. I wanted to do something for those children. So I joined up with a non-profit organization, and once we got the container delivered to Israel and on to a warehouse in Jerusalem, we worked out how to distribute everything we had received.

We started by delivering toys to the children of fallen soldiers. Then we gave toys to injured soldiers in many different hospitals to give to their kids when they came to visit. Because I was sending gear into active units, I asked the logistics guys in every unit to get me a list of all the children of all the soldiers, so that when they came out on leave and were rushing home they had toys to give to all their kids. Some soldiers have five or six children and in every case we made sure everything we sent was age appropriate. Soldiers – and their wives – have told us how much the toys helped the whole family at just the right time.

At the moment I am still collecting and delivering on a daily basis food and equipment such as gas canisters, coffee kits, tactical uniform, boots, gun lights, tefillin, tzitzit and even drones! Basically whatever and wherever needed – including into the most dangerous places. I'm also working with various hospitals getting the injured heroes the many items they need to make their rehabilitation easier. There is still so much more to do.