This last week was the hardest week in the history of Hope For Sderot. It was harder than the 2008 Gaza war, harder than the last five years of Kassam rocket attacks, it was even harder than the last war we just had with Gaza; like I said it was the hardest week we have ever had.

Over the past four years our volunteers have gathered together on Tuesdays and packed bags of food for the following Wednesday. On Wednesday we would meet at 9:30 and set out chairs and fill up the water jug with ice water for the people that would come in to have a place to sit or have a class of cold water.

At 10 o’clock we would open our doors to be greeted by 15-20 people already waiting to come in and pick up their food bag. By 12:30 lunch would be on the table to feed our volunteers, but all that changed last week and it will not be the same all this month.

This is the first time we had to close the doors on Hope For Sderot because we had no food to give out. With a sign posted on the door in Hebrew and in Russian we informed our friends that we did not have food and that we would be taking this month to try to restock our supplies for next month.

After our last newsletter someone emailed us and asked to be taken off our “Beg List”. I hope this newsletter is not seen as a “Beg List”, for it has never been intended as such but rather simply a letter of information. If you can and want to help Thank You, if you can’t we understand.

Eti got one phone call after another from people asking “What will we do”? It was hard for Eti, who was born here in Sderot. She had to answer all the phone calls. She also knows and was brought up with most of the 445 families on our list, it took its toll on her. You see not only does Eti have a heart about the size of Texas but she just about knows all 445 families by name and what number they are on our list.

We have 445 families who look to us each month for help to feed their children, their elderly and those injured by Kassam. It takes $11,000 a month to accomplish this and in February we didn’t have it.

This newsletter goes out to only 1400 people; of those we have no idea how many of them just get deleted without ever being read but if those of you who actually read our newsletters were to help us with just $10 a month, the sign that is now on our door would never have to go up again.

If you would forward this to your friends on your mailing list, just maybe one of them who has never heard about Sderot might want to help and even send this email on to their friends.

Will you consider helping us with a monthly donation or maybe a “Forward” of this newsletter to your friends? The “Donate” button up top as well as the “Contact” button will take you where you need to go to help.

Thank you in advance for your help.