Heartfelt Initiative: Supporting War-Affected Businesses with Gift Packages

It's no secret that alongside the war imposed on Israeli citizens over the past year and a half, many economic challenges have arisen: businesses collapsing, people losing their livelihoods, and factories temporarily or permanently closing.

Yarden Arara, a mother of three from the 'Hoshaya' community, observed this situation and decided to take action. She realized the need to support these businesses, extend them a helping hand, and thus, she launched a unique initiative: gift packages composed of products from businesses affected by the war.

A Giving Initiative

'It started last year,' Yarden recalls, 'I was on maternity leave after the birth of my third son, and amid all the war stress, I felt compelled to do something and contribute myself. At that time, the idea of preparing gift packages with products from businesses impacted by the war came to my mind.

'I was able to easily access lists containing the names of such businesses and directly purchase various products from them. From the get-go, it was important to me to reach out specifically to businesses of evacuees or reservists genuinely affected, while also ensuring the products were high quality to honor the gift packages.

'It was a very busy period,' she reminisces, 'and during that time I also thought of another idea – inviting people to donate packages to injured soldiers or evacuated families. I personally went to the head rehabilitation ward at Tel Hashomer to distribute packages to injured soldiers and traveled to communities of evacuees from the north and south to distribute packages and bring them joy.

'It was interesting,' she notes, 'because initially, when I arrived at these places, I was warned that 'they receive many packages, and the effort might be futile.' This was a bit disappointing since I had worked so hard, yet found out it wasn't really needed. However, once I started distributing the packages, I received such enthusiastic responses. People appreciated the quality of the packages and the initiative behind them to assist companies and businesses currently struggling because the more we support them, the easier it will be for them to get through this period.'

Lifting Spirits

Yarden mentions that eventually, the number of packages sent last year was far higher than initially anticipated, bringing her great satisfaction.

'This year, as Tu B'Shevat approached, I decided to repeat the initiative,' she notes, 'I partnered with Tal Hertz, a reservist's wife, and together we reached out to other companies and organizations to create suitable packages. Even after Tu B'Shevat, we don't intend to stop, as we'll then focus on Purim's gift package project.'

From your experience with the companies and factories, do most of them continue to operate despite their war experiences?

'It varies greatly. Some companies took a long break and have now resumed full operations, some have reduced their business activities, and surprisingly, some businesses continued to operate even during the war – in the north and south under fire and alerts. I also met reservists who, during the war, transferred business management to someone else, clinging on – determined not to collapse.

'I don't think that by purchasing packages from them, I'm saving them, but my feeling is that there are so many people who already buy packages for the holidays and wish to give, so if they're doing this, why not give a small boost to affected businesses thereby helping them and raising the nation's morale? Because we all need this right now.'