About Giving from the Heart
In 2020, we (Nachman Ishay and Nahman Peretz) founded the "Giving from the Heart" Association
We are cousins from Ashdod who experienced hunger as children and know firsthand how it feels to go to bed hungry.
We pledged that when we grow up, we will do whatever we can so that no child will go hungry and no one will go through what we went through ourselves.
We worked as salaried employees and set aside a tithe every month for the disadvantaged. We have also purchasing food for four families in need, and brought it to their doorstep, for 4 years.
When COVID hit, we were the corona virus came, we were furloughed and could no longer provide for these families.
It was then t hat we decided to ask for the help of friends and relatives. We posted on Facebook a screenshot of the request we received
and couldn't believe our eyes: Within a few minutes dozens of good people responded, asking how they can help and support the cause; some made financial donation and some donated groceries…
The next morning, we woke up excited and full of joy, and went to the supermarket to shop for groceries.
We filled cartfulls of dry goods, vegetables, meat and dairy products, as well as some treats for the children, so they don't feel different from all the others in their classroom.
Then, we drove up to these families doorsteps, put the bags on their threshold and disappeared.
It was all done as quietly as possible, without embarrassing them, God forbid.
About the association
The happy families sent emotional grateful messages and pictures of the packages, and could not stop thanking us for the abundance of food they received.
We shared these thank-you messages and photos on social media, to fill the hearts of all donors.
The days went by, we kept receiving more and more requests for help, single fathers and mothers who begged for food for their children, sent terrible pictures of almost empty refrigerators, which broke our hearts.
So we pressed on: A request came in, we shared it on social media, people lent their hands and donated, we then embarked on grocery shopping and brought the food directly to these families.
When the pressure became even higher, we decided to found a small, modest project, naming it: "Giving from the Heart" (No child left hungry)
The project gained momentum, the number of requests grew and so has the project. Donors and benefactors joined in, volunteers came aboard, some shared posts on social media to collect donations, some helped with transportation, and some collected food products at the supermarket.
Over time the group became larger and we decided to prepare, for the first time, delux food baskets for Rosh Hashanah for 80 families with children.
When Rosh Hashanah came, we decided to turn the small "project" into a Registered Association
so we can work in a more orderly and correct manner,
We continued to launch several other projects, like the Hanukkah Project: 200 pampering gift boxes for children,
which included a menorah with candles, a donut and many goodies to bring joy and happiness to these children.
Our Passover Project comprised 300 premium food baskets for families across Israel. We also produced birthdays for children from low-income families, a bar mitzvah for a boy who underwent a continuous boycott for three years, warm and pampering gift boxes for soldiers in the Gaza Strip during wartime, and more. All is done in complete volunteerism from the heart and soul,
because if you already give, then you are "Giving from the Heart"
Today, "Giving from the Heart" supports over 600 families on various occassions.
"Giving from the Heart" has over 150 volunteers working in approximately 15 distribution points throughout Israel.
The food packages are given to disadvantaged families, orphans and widows,
Single dads and moms or the elderly.
We never meet the families, to save the embarrassment and keep their dignity.
