How did Gedud.org start and what does it offer?

 

In 2015 , my son left his house in New York and traveled to Israel to join the IDF as a  Lone Soldier.

He was accepted to join the prestigious Golani Unit. During his time there, I began to learn a lot about many things about the army that I never even thought about before. I would hear about the food he eats, the clothing he wore, and the sleepless nights being in a desert field. He told me about the conditions he endured during training and about the friends he had made.

 

Over time , my son developed a greater appreciation and a closer bond with his fellow soldiers in his unit. He also noticed that the equipment the soldiers had to use were not so effective and sometimes outright uncomfortable.

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My son, not being someone to just say tsk tsk and just deal with it felt there was something he could do about it and decided he was going to do something about it. So he started a Gofundme Page to raise money for the soldiers in his unit to buy better equipment. Between Gofundme and private donations , he and I raised over $25,000 and was able to buy specialized vests, clothing, and equipment for all 45 people in his unit. https://www.gofundme.com/y3b78u5g

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After he was done with this Gofundme project , it got me thinking why not keep it going ?

 

So I discussed with my son what else we can do for his unit.

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At this point he was in training for about a year and it dawned on the two of us that some basic necessities are just as important and appreciated. My son had requested some items like undergarments, knee pads,  and gaffers tape.  I had them shipped to him and he others in his unit also thought it would be great to have it but it was either not available or it was just too expensive to buy in Israel on a limited budget. So I got some extra items and shipped them to his base.

 

I got some friends to chip in some money to buy assorted items also and the ball kept rolling.

 

Then people were asking me for a name of a charitable organization to make tax-deductible checks to. I didn't have one.

 

Thus the birth of Gedud.org.

 

Here’s the way it’s set up. Rather than me asking you to donate and then us deciding what to buy, we decided to leave that management decision up to you, our benefactors to do that.

 

The items I posted for sale on this site are the same  items I bought and raised money for in the past. I want to add new items to this list and will do so as the organization grows.

 

All items purchased are shipped to our new york office ( my basement) and I pack them up in suitcases . I have bags going out every month being delivered to my contact in Israel, my son. He delivers the items directly to the base or has a contingent of soldiers meet him , where he gives them out.

 

The handouts are not random. We know who we give and what we give to each soldier.

Currently , the clothing on the site shows items for men only because that’s the experience we have. We want to learn and do more so feedback is important.  We will have more items for men and women.

We also accept donations of clothing and anything that can be helpful and improve the daily lives of soldiers.

 

If you have questions , please send me an email to Cheskib@gedud.org

 

Thank You

Cheski Baum

Founder 

Gedud.org