Shira+W

= = = **Rationale** = toc **Research article** - I decided to write about the "Leket" organization because I knew about this organization and it really interested me to learn more about it.This organization collects food for the needy in different ways, and then distributes it to social service agencies that serve the food to the needy. I think this organization does an amazing service, and what I like particularly about the "Leket" organization is the way they collect the food: anyone who wants can come to help gather the food from fields and orchards.

**Profile**- I chose to interview and write about Channah Koppel, the founder of knitting hats for soldiers project.I like to knit, and a lot of times when I looked on the internet in knitting blogs and forums someone wrote about Channah and her amazing project .I printed out the pattern for knitting the hat and planned to make it some time. So when we had to choose someone to interview I immediately thought about Channah Koppel. I was very excited to meet her after that many times that I hearing about her and her project so many times.

**Creative connection**- I chose to create the flag of Israel using flowers.When I was thinking about Israel I thought about its nature: the different plant and flowers that grow in Israel. I think the nature in Israel is an integral part of the land. I wanted to show the face of Israel and the beauty of the country, so I used the flowers to representing the Israeli nation.

= = = Research Article- "Leket Israel" =

Did it ever happen to you that when you finished a meal you had a lot of leftover food, and it was hard for you to throw it to the garbage, thinking about the hungry people that might need it? If the answer is yes, you might want to know that someone already thought about that and he found a solution for that problem. It is Mr. Joseph Gitler- the founder of "Leket Israel". It all started in 2003; Gitler began delivering excess food from caterers to social service organizations in Raanana, Herzliya and Kfar Saba. Over the years his company expanded and the organization "table to table" was opened. It became the organization where tens of thousands of volunteers and dozens of workers saved, and are still saving, hundreds of tons of fresh and healthy food every day. In January, "Table to Table" and the organization "Leket Israel" joined together and became the national food bank.

The main help that the organization provides is giving hot meals, fresh fruits and vegetables and quality goods to social service agencies. Then, they serve the food to their customers. They also match food donors with service organizations in areas that they are not yet able to serve. Leket has two projects that collect food for the needy: The first project is called "Food Rescue by Day", and in this project Leket Israel's seven refrigerated trucks rescue thousands of excess meals from corporate cafeterias and IDF bases, as well as tons of "grade B" fresh produce from farmers, packing houses and fresh commercial products nearing their end dates from food manufacturers. The drivers then deliver the food to Leket's partner agencies: soup kitchens, senior citizen centers, youth centers and other charitable organizations around the country. "Gleaning the Land" Project is a program that sends thousands of volunteers and dozens of paid pickers into fields and orchards to gather produce donated or left to rot by farmers (75 tons/week). In 2010, the project rescued 9 million lbs of fruits and vegetables from over 300 farms throughout Israel. All produce is delivered free of charge to over 290 nonprofit organizations serving Israel's needy. It could have been easier to just buy the food, but it would also be more expensive. Food rescue is the most well-organized and cost-effective way to get fresh food to hungry people. Because all Leket's food is donated, the cost to rescue a meal is very much lower than even the most efficiently run soup kitchen spends to provide meals. Also, "rescuing" food from being thrown away has a positive impact on the environment. Another project "Leket" does is they make sandwiches for children. It is a program to give school children with a minimum of one healthy meal per day. Leket Israel volunteers prepare and deliver over 7,000 mid-morning meals to students from 100 schools all through Israel. Each school day, kids receive a freshly baked roll filled with hummus, cream cheese, hard cheese, chocolate spread or tuna, and a fresh fruit or vegetable (usually "rescued" through Project Leket). At the end of each year, with help of many volunteers, Leket Israel rescues over 700,000 meals and 13 million lbs of produce and perishable goods, in addition to supplying over 1 million volunteer prepared sandwiches to needy children. The organization does a great mitzvah: not only helping the needy, but also giving each of us an opportunity to help and support the needy in Israel. = Profile- Channah Koppel =

The soldiers are standing in the cold, protecting Israel and serving the land. The wind is whistling around the soldiers, piercing their bones and freezing them, while we sit in our homes, protected from the coldness outside. Many of us never thought about the soldiers that make us feel so confident and protected in our country. But there is a woman that does care for the soldiers- it is Channa Koppel, the founder of the "Knitting Hats for Israeli Soldiers" project. Channah Koppel was born in New York in 1965. Her family moved to Montreal, Canada when she was 10 years old. She made aliyah in 1986 when she was 20 years old. Her husband was living here already when she got married so she came and joined him. As a lot of Jewish people she made aliyah because she felt like it seems to be the natural place for Jews to be. Koppel believes that if Jews can be here they should come to Israel and live here. After living in Jerusalem for 10 years, Koppel moved to Efrat. She works in writing and editing, and in her free time she enjoys cooking, reading and knitting.

Five years ago she started a knitting group in Gush-Etzion. The group gets together once in two weeks and work on their knitting together. In one of their meetings one of the women suggested, "Why don't we do a charity project?" Since her son was a paratrooper in the Israeli army at the time, Channa decided to check if there was anything they needed in particular. "Wool hats," one of the commanders replied, and Koppel got to work. She made a sample, showed it to the commander and got his approval.Then, in the knitting group they made 10 hats for her son's little unit. They sent them and they thought they had finished with the project.

However the group started getting requests from soldiers in many other units in the army. They wanted to have the hats as well. Channah Koppel realized the little knitting group in Gush- Etzion is not going to be able to supply enough hats for all the soldiers. So she wrote about it on some knitting blogs and Jewish communities' websites worldwide, saying that she need help knitting the hats and people could mail them to her.

The response to the project was amazing. People even forwarded Channah's request further and all of a sudden everybody knew about it. Koppel began receiving hats from all over the world, and still continues! Since they started the project, 5 years ago, they have distributed about 5,000 hats a year! A lot of the hats are being sent to soldiers through “Package from Home” (an organization that sends packages with essential items to “Chayalim bodedim” -soldiers without families in Israel), but some of the hats Koppel just sends directly to an entire military unit.

“ I like that it brings people of all kinds together” says Koppel “I met a lot of different kinds people as a result of the project: people from Alaska to Christians in New-Zealand. It is really very touching that people from all over the world want to do something for our soldiers.” People from all over the world, including non-Jews, feel like they want to support Israel. E-mails were sent to Koppel from New Zealand, South Africa, England, Alaska and more saying they were interested in taking part in her project. She sends them back the pattern for the hat. Channa says she thinks that the thing that appeals to people about this project is that it is very personal: "You make something with your own hands and give it to somebody who's going to wear it on his head."

Some people like to add a little note attached to the hat for the soldier who is going to get it. That is why the hats provide both physical warmth and emotional support and it is good knowing that somewhere tonight, a soldier doing guard duty in the cold will be wearing a warm hand knit hat, made with love.

One of the women who is knitting hats for the project, Lynda, even organized a group to regularly knit hats for soldiers, which she mails to Koppel monthly! Furthermore, she has created a soldier doll (with a hat of course). The doll gets to attend all kinds of fun events in England, like crafts fairs and Yom HaAtzma'ut celebrations.Channah wrote abut her on her blog: “She's a fabulous person with boundless energy, and I am so grateful for her dedication to this cause. Not to mention for the many, many hats she's sent this way -- and, of course, for the new official mascot of Hats for Israeli Soldiers.”

The soldiers are grateful to get the hats. Even though the army does give them hats, the standard hat that soldiers receive in their kit bags is from a fleece-type synthetic material. It is nowhere near as warm and snug as the hats the project make. A lot of soldiers send Channa Koppel letters to thank her. Here is a letter from soldier who serve in Mikveh Alon:“**I'm a Chayal Boded from NY in the IDF now. We started our service on December 15th and have been at Mikveh Alon base performing basic** ** tironut and ulpan. We recently received some of your hats and are extremely grateful! ** **I never realized how chilly it got in Israel since I've only been here in the summer months before. The hat makes a huge difference and it also lets us know that people are thinking of us. Thanks again and keep up the good work!** **With appreciation,** **The Chayalim Bodedim of Mikveh Alon”** Channah's message to teenagers is: "every little thing we do can count! My project started from nothing and it just got bigger. A lot of people want to do good things and they are just waiting for opportunity. So go out there and grab it!"

= Personal Connection =

For the creative part of my project, I decided to show a picture of the flowers of Israel shaping the flag of our country, in order to express what I feel when I hear the words “the land of Israel". In the picture you can see 20 different kinds of flowers. Here are my explanations for the most significant ones that represent different aspects in Israel. **1. Madonna Lily**: The six petals of the flower create a shape of the "Magen David". Some people assume that this is the source to the importance of the "Magen David" as the symbol of Judaism.

**2. Sabra**: This is a thorny desert plant with a thick hide that contains a sweet and softer inside. This word is also used to describe a Jew who was born in Israel, who may be rough on the outside, but is delicate and sensitive on the inside just like the plant.

**3. Red Everlasting**: This flower is a symbol of the Israeli Fallen Soldiers Remembrance Day. A sticker with the picture of this flower is handed out all over the country on this day, and is worn on shirts everywhere. In my work the flowers represent the variety of people who live in Israel. Every person who lives in Israel comes from a different origin and you can see through the unique appearance and special traditions that was used for generations in their family. Like the flowers- every person has something which makes them special. The connection between the different people is the fact that they live and are raised in the same land- the land of Israel. Their love for the land creates a deep connection between them. In my opinion, thanks to the variety in our society a beautiful and unique Israeli nation has been created, just like the flowers create harmony when they are joined together.

= Reflection =

After working on my project for over a month, I wanted to look back and reflect on my experiences, and see what the outcome of my project is a result are. My expectations from this project were to learn about Israel and the people who live there. I expected to hear about a lot of, Zionistic, native Israelis who have lived in Israel from the day they were born, People with ideals and visions. In addition I hoped I would be able to improve my writing skills and broaden my vocabulary in English.

Most of my expectations were fulfilled, but when I finished writing this project I realized who all of the people who founded the organizations and project in my work were all Olim (immigrants). I did not expect this. After thinking about it I understood that the Olim are the ones who feel a deeper connection to Israel, the ones who really go after their ideals. There are many people who were born in Israel and do not know how lucky they are. They appreciate less what they have in their regular life. Not only had this surprised me, but also the fact that I was actually having fun writing about all the different and interesting topics. Even though it was a little bit difficult, I really enjoyed reading, interviewing and writing about Israel.

While doing the project, I met Channah Koppel, the founder of a project who knits hats for soldiers. Thanks to her, people from all over the world get to support the Israeli army. I also wrote about the “Leket” organization, which collects and delivers food for the needy. This organization gives an opportunity for each person to take part in helping to collect vegetables from their fields.

= Bibliography =

__A Package From Home__, 16 Decamber, < [] >

__Hats for Israeli Soldiers__, 16 Decamber,, < [] >

Koppel, Channah, __personal interview__, Efrat, 8 Decamber 2011

Leket Israel, 22.11.2011 < [][|>]

Leket Israel, __Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia__, 18 November 2011, 22.11.2012 < [] >

Novik, Akiva, “Women knit hats for IDF troops “, __Ynet__, 11.01.11, 16 Decamber, < [] >

<span style="display: block; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">__Wild Flowers of Israel__, 8.1.2012, < []<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> >