Dear Family
It’s 2023, and as I look back over the past years, it’s hard to believe how far we have come as an organization and community. It is bittersweet as I report with pride that we are helping 1,300 soldiers, their spouses, and in many cases, their children as well.
Fifteen years ago, when a soldier was injured in Israel, this soldier did not have a place to turn. Today these soldiers don’t need a place to turn because BFL is at their bedside while they are still in the hospital. This is when they begin to see a glimmer of light in what appears like a life of darkness. The image below shows the interrelated progression of programs that take each soldier by the hand (sometimes literally) and match them exactly and specifically with the help that enables them to reclaim their lives and begin to dream again.
Each one of these areas has a dropdown of programs, and we have broken the entire country down into regions with mentors and programs for each region. When it comes to medical and PTSD, we have a suite of projects and programs that address the needs of a soldier facing serious medical and personal challenges. Whether it’s innovative prosthetics or therapy dogs, our mission is to find the essential help that will transform the life of each of our members and their families. This includes providing critical financial aid to soldiers in need through direct aid, free loans to pay bills or start businesses, and many university scholarships. Lastly, we now have a suite of programs that build the unbreakable healing connection between our soldiers and Jewish communities around the world.
I realize this biweekly is different from the individual stories of transformation, but I wanted to give you a deeper look into what we hope is the disciplined and holistic nature of BFL today. There is simply no other organization like BFL in the world.
As proud as I am of what we have built, this is our collective prayer: May there be no more injured soldiers this year. May there be no more war. Enough pain, enough suffering. One more is too many.
Shabbat Shalom from Israel,
Yaniv
PS: We wanted to share that we started a workshop – Fatherhood for Life, last week. Twelve brothers are participating in this workshop, where they face the challenges of fatherhood in a safe, non-judgmental environment. The program will be run by two brothers as facilitators who connect brothers who share a common life story – they were all injured in battle, and they are all fathers. Together they realize that they are not alone – that they have similar difficulties and problems that come with their injuries. The frustrations they feel daily regarding fatherhood are more “normal” than they thought, and now they can feel less guilty about it. They will be taught new skills and tools that can assist them to deal with their emotions and efficient communication with their spouses and children.
Some photos of our BFL fathers and their amazing children:
