Where Your Lost Items End Up: Discover the National Lost and Found Gemach

Have you heard about the National Lost and Found Gemach? If your answer is no, allow us to guess you've never lost an item dear to you and probably haven't found such an item either. Had you encountered one of these situations, you can be sure you would have heard of the Gemach, which receives no less than 4,000 inquiries a month, all aimed at connecting those who lost items with those who found them.

How did the Gemach begin?

"It all started a little over thirty years ago," says Tamar, the manager of the Gemach. "My husband and I decided we wanted to start some type of Gemach. For half a year, we brainstormed ideas. Initially, we considered a housing or matchmaking Gemach, eventually arriving at the lost and found concept, which is also a form of mediation."

Tamar notes that the Gemach initially operated as a neighborhood project in Har Nof. "During that time, we were growing our family and couldn't invest as much. Even with limited activity, we dealt with touching stories. I remember a woman who lost a jewelry box worth tens of thousands of shekels. She lost it traveling for Shabbat, and the box fell from her luggage. After our ad, a woman reported finding the box in the elevator of the building where the loser lived! We've returned money, strollers, bags, wallets, and more."

How do you find these items?

"Every month, we published a list in the local bulletin of lost and found items, and people contacted us to help connect the dots."

A World of Lost and Found

For seventeen years, they operated in Har Nof, occasionally branching out to other Jerusalem neighborhoods like Gush 80, Sanhedria, and Shmuel Hanavi. "We always aimed to expand, but resources were limited," says Tamar. Then, thirteen years ago, an idea struck: "Instead of listing items by neighborhoods, we categorized them: jewelry, electronics, clothing, etc. This system came from recognizing that sometimes people misplace items in unexpected locations, leading to an exponential increase in reported lost and found items. I recruited five volunteers, each responsible for a category."

How did the Gemach become national?

"When we decided to expand, we advertised in local publications. This caught the attention of someone who wanted to open a similar Gemach in the center. Overwhelmed by responses, he reached out to us for collaboration. He added volunteers from his area, and in a few months, the Gemach grew from local to national."

How many inquiries do you receive now?

"It varies, but generally, we receive hundreds of inquiries daily. We have about 40 women volunteers categorizing and reporting these inquiries."

Digitized Gemach

In recent years, the Gemach upgraded to a unique computerized system. "Previously, volunteers manually filtered inquiries; now, the system matches lost with found items," Tamar explains. "Our database now has 21 categories with various subcategories. For instance, under jewelry and watches, you can use the phone system to specify watches: 1, bracelets: 2, necklaces: 3, etc., allowing precise searches."

What is the role of the volunteers?

"I'll explain with an example: if someone loses a bracelet, she contacts the Gemach and is directed to the bracelet manager. The manager records the details in the database. Usually, the system shows several found items matching the description and date, leading to further narrowing. Sometimes the item is immediately found, but it can take months before a matching report comes in."

And your role is?

"Me?" (smiling) "I oversee the operation. Weekly, I handle advertisements in sixty bulletins across the country, maintain contact with transportation companies about lost items on buses, communicate with volunteers, and substitute for volunteers on leave. I'm also responsible for software maintenance. This commitment led me to leave my previous job and devote all my time to the Gemach. I thank Hashem every day for this opportunity."

How successful is the Gemach in returning items?

"There isn't a day without successfully returning lost items," she proudly states. "However, we have more inquiries from those who've lost items than those who've found them. This is partly because not everyone is aware of our Gemach and because often items are accidentally left at home or swept away by weather. It concerns me where the owners of found items are, as many precious items sit unclaimed at the Gemach."

What are the main items found?

"Cameras are at the top, with eight times as many lost as found. Other items include tefillin, hats, wallets, luggage, money, jewelry, transportation cards, clothing... you name it!"

Returning Lost Licenses

Tamar shares incredible stories that unfold in the Gemach. "Once, we found a wallet with money and a Texas driver's license, clearly belonging to someone from abroad. We discovered a family with that name in Telzstone, but they had moved. Based on experience, I speculated it was a family from Texas who lived there, and the person on the license might be their son studying in a yeshiva. My husband teaches at such a yeshiva in Jerusalem. When he came home, I asked if he recognized the student's name, and he almost fainted because that student attended his lecture that day. Needless to say, the wallet was returned immediately."

"In another instance, a desperate woman called after leaving a box with a wig in a car that gave her and her husband a ride. A volunteer spoke with her, and coincidentally, the car owner called to report the found item. Astonishingly, the car owner's mother-in-law happened to be the volunteer's neighbor, and the wig was returned the same day."

"There have been exceptionally valuable finds, like a woman losing a diamond ring in a taxi. The driver himself contacted us about it. Another woman took the wrong stroller off a bus to Safed but had enough details about the lady who took it to recover it before Shabbat."

"It's truly moving," she concludes. "People from all backgrounds call us around the clock to report all kinds of findings, and we're thrilled to be the facilitators in this commendable task."

Finally, she shares some important advice: "As the managers of the National Lost and Found Gemach, we understand the distress of losing items. We advise the public to label important belongings with a phone number, especially on tefillin, hats, coats, and transportation cards. Hundreds of calls about lost and found items could have been avoided with identifying marks."

"Another key point is not to give up hope. Even if something seems irretrievable, it's always worth contacting the Gemach. You might be pleasantly surprised. There's nothing to lose; it's definitely worth a try."