It was a difficult time.

Three Jewish teens had been kidnapped and murdered, an Israeli-Arab teen had been killed in retribution, and missiles had begun to rain down upon the residents of the south of Israel.

Cynthia Ferman wanted to do something; to simultaneously help Israel’s citizens and to allow people to contribute and support one other at a time of need.

Thinking of all the children who were spending so much time in bomb shelters and experiencing the trauma of sirens and explosions, Cynthia decided to organize a toy drive, wherepeople throughout the country could donate toys to the children under fire.

She reached out to Benji Davis, apost-Aliyah coordinator with Nefesh B’Nefesh,who helped publicize the event to the English speaking community and our own network of Olim. They decided to expand the drive to also include contributions for soldiers as well, including food and basic toiletries.

And the turnout was incredible.

Hundreds of Olim and English speakers arrived at the 12 different collection points which had been set up throughout the country; each site collecting up to three carloads of toys and supplies. “People were coming from all over to make donations; sending emails asking ‘how can I help?’” relates Cynthia. “It really was inspiring to see so many individuals coming together to help other people they didn’t even know”.

Carloads of supplies were distributed to shelters in Ashkelon, Sderot, at absorption housing centers, and to the soldiers stationed at the border.  “People were giving to the point where the army was turning them away”.

Later, Cynthia was approached by Tel Aviv Internationals to organize transportation for Olim to pay Shiva visits to the families of soldiers killed in the IDF Operation Defensive Edge.Olim paid shiva calls, mostly to families of lone soldiers, and also visited wounded soldiers in hospital.

Cynthia was inspired by the sense of unity and camaraderie in Israel.  “It’s always there, inside Jews, this feeling of Ahavat Yisrael (love for fellow Jews). But at certain times it becomes more pronounced”. And it is for this reason, to make a tangible contribution, that she moved to Israel herself.

Cynthia grew up in Florida, earned a Masters in International Relations from Georgetown University, and worked for the US State Department. There, she was inspired to make Aliyah when she saw so many people working to further the United States’ world image and realized that not enough people were doing the same for Israel. Inspired to make a different to Israel’s international image, she moved to Jerusalem and worked for Mayor Nir Barkat’s foreign affairs department.

The message Cynthia learned from these experiences is that Olim really can make a tangible difference.“We moved here for a reason, and we want to contribute as best as we can,” she says.“When you are overseas, you are often limited to making financial contributions; in Israel you can personally and physically make a substantial difference”. This story is just an example, one of many, of Olim volunteering, initiating, driving change and making an impact on Israeli society and on the lives of fellow citizens.

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