Every year, hundreds of young American Jews leave their homes, families, and communities to make "aliyah" to Israel. Due to their age, these new citizens of Israel are required to serve in the Israel Defense Forces. Since they are alone and without family, these new recruits are called "Lone Soldiers". In their first months and years in Israel, they find themselves in foreign settings far away from the familiarities of home. In order to ease the burden of their transition, M'ever LaYam (Hebrew for "across the sea") facilitates the connection between these soldiers to Hillels, synagogues, youth groups, or Jewish day schools from their home communities or nearby. Throughout their service, the soldiers engage in creative communication with the connecting organization, providing updates on their service and their life in Israel. In return, the soldiers receive care packages with requested items from familiar brands together with letters of support and encouragement from their connecting organization. What we do: - Connect soldiers with pillars of support from their communities of origin - Create meaningful educational connections for North American Jewry - Send care packages with familiar items from home directly to soldiers in Israel. Interested in connecting to our organization? Visit us at www.meverlayam.org!