Charity helps the elderly get through winter with blankets, cash
International Fellowship of Christians and Jews distributes NIS 7.5 million worth of blankets, subsidies to 20,000 Israelis
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The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews on Wednesday launched a multi-million-dollar campaign to help needy elderly Israelis cope with skyrocketing heating bills.
The charity organization allocated NIS 7.5 million ($2.15 million) for distributing blankets and heating grants to 20,000 elderly people across the country as part of its “Operation Winter Warmth.”
The grants will be distributed by hundreds of volunteers and social workers, enabling the elderly to stay warm in the remaining winter months.
According to a survey conducted by IFCJ, one in four elderly Israelis sacrifices heating in their homes and hot water because of economic difficulties, and one in five sacrifices basic goods in order to pay for heating over the winter months.
Since 2006, the IFCJ has distributed approximately NIS 82 million ($23.5 million) to thousands of elderly Israelis in need.
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder and president of the IFCJ, said welfare isn’t enough for many of Israel’s elderly, who require additional financial aid to survive the winter.
“Hundreds of thousands of elderly people in Israel are living in permanent economic crisis and they cannot heat their homes during winter,” he said in a statement. “The Fellowship works to broaden the reach of aid to tens of thousands more elderly people.”
The Times of Israel Community.