About Us

Warm the Needy was founded in 2003 with a simple yet critical mission to warm the hearts and homes of Israel's needy. With over 1.5 million Israelis living below the poverty line, one in four adults and one in three children live in substandard conditions that often include the lack of protection from the harsh and bitter weather during winter months.

In 2006, Warm the Needy helped approximately 1,500 families living in old, poorly built apartments, survive the winter. Working hand in hand with activists from major relief organizations throughout the country, we reached out to those suffering families by providing them with a heater and financial assistance to cover electric bills.

Warm the Needy has helped countless families maintain warm and comfortable homes conducive and necessary for a healthy family environment. We help single parents, new immigrants as well as large families with as many as fourteen children. Our assistance has prevented thousands of children and their parents from serious Illness due to the cold. This year we expect to help over 2,000 families make it through the winter.

All this has been accomplished due to our strong working relationship with the Israel Electric Company (IEC). We are truly grateful to the IEC for their support, participation, and generosity in joining forces with Warm the Needy to combat this ever growing issue facing our entire society within every socioeconomic group. Utilizing a sophisticated computer system based on real time information from the IEC, we directly pay our clients' heating bills. The IEC is behind us every step of the way and has done everything possible to ensure our success through maintaining the privacy and dignity of recipients.

We treat our clients with the same deep respect we would have for our own family members. And, we maintain strict confidentiality practices making sure all details are kept private. This sensitivity has earned us the praise and backing of leading figures both in Israel and around the world, including the mayor of Jerusalem, Uri Lupolianski, and the Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel, Rabbi Yona Metzger.

Warm The Needy is a registered 501(c)(3) in the United States. Staffed by volunteers, 100% of your donation goes directly to helping our clients. As winter begins, we turn to you and ask that you lend a hand to enable us to answer a resounding YES! to the pleas for warmth from 2,000 families suffering from the cold. Your generous support will further our work to warm the hearts and homes of Israel's needy.

Wishing you a warm and healthy winter,

Hershel Puretz
Founder and Director
Warm the Needy

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