HAOGEN FOR DRAFTED FAMILIES

HaOgen for Drafted Families (Hebrew: העוגן למשפחות המילואים, "The Anchor for Reservist Families") is an Israeli volunteer organization founded on 7 October 2023 by Rachel Azaria together with Yael Yechieli and Racheli Shurti, on the basis of a support model first developed in Jerusalem during Operation Protective Edge. It provides a holistic support envelope for families in which one parent has been called up for reserve duty or serves in the standing army, aiming to help them get through a challenging period while maintaining a beneficial routine. The organization operates through a nationwide network of community and municipal coordinators and tens of thousands of volunteers. Its services include help with children, employment guidance, emotional support, cooking meals, benefits and treats, workshops and training, financial support, logistical assistance and laundry folding. According to its official website, it accompanies roughly 40,000 families (about 180,000 people) organized in 700 communities from the Hermon in the north to Eilat in the south, and reports figures of 220,000 people, 44,000 families, 20,000 volunteers and 3,500 events. A Hebrew Wikipedia entry from March 2024 recorded about 12,000 families and 8,000 volunteers in more than 250 localities, reflecting the organization's rapid growth. HaOgen describes itself as the largest and most significant organization in Israel in the field of assistance to reservist and standing-service families. It works through strategic partnerships with the Israel Defense Forces, municipalities and local authorities, the business sector and professional bodies, and it involves Israeli society broadly in its mission. The Ministry of Education cooperates so that students can volunteer through personal-commitment programs, and some municipalities and local councils integrate the organization with their own volunteer systems. Its stated values are community as a force, solidarity and personal accompaniment, volunteering as a beating heart, availability and presence at the moment of truth, professionalism and responsibility, and recognition of the family. In 2024 the organization received the Jerusalem Mayor's Volunteer Award from Mayor Moshe Lion, recognizing the work of its municipal coordinators and volunteers. The initiative is a nonprofit voluntary association rather than a commercial company, but it operates a recognized brand with a public website, donation channels and volunteer recruitment.

HaOgen for Drafted Families was founded on 7 October 2023 by three partners — Rachel Azaria, Yael Yechieli and Racheli Shurti — on the basis of a support model that had been provided to families in Jerusalem during Operation Protective Edge. Azaria has described the background: during Protective Edge her partner was called up for reserve duty under an emergency order and she was left alone with the children. She set up a volunteer system in Jerusalem that connected families of those called up with volunteers who prepared food, accompanied women after childbirth and provided other help. By the end of that operation, about 500 families in Jerusalem had received assistance. On 7 October 2023, with the outbreak of the Israel–Hamas war, the organization's activity was renewed following a request from a family that had received assistance during Operation Protective Edge, and it was expanded to other parts of the country. As of March 2024, according to Hebrew Wikipedia, the organization was assisting about 12,000 families, with 8,000 volunteers helping reservists' families in more than 250 localities across the country. The organization's activity is based on a volunteer system headed by municipal or neighborhood coordinators, working in cooperation with the organization's headquarters and a technological support team. The locality coordinators are in continuous contact with the families of those called up who are serving in active reserve duty. The organization has grown rapidly: its official website now states that it accompanies about 40,000 families (about 180,000 people) organized in 700 communities with nationwide reach from the Hermon to Eilat, and reports 220,000 people, 44,000 families, 20,000 volunteers and 3,500 events. Partners in the initiative include the Ministry of Education, through which students of relevant ages can volunteer as part of personal-commitment projects; municipalities and local authorities, some of which cooperate with the organization and use their local volunteer systems; and associations and businesses that cooperate with or donate to the system. The organization also works through strategic partnerships with the Israel Defense Forces, authorities, the business sector and professional bodies to expand its support array and address long-term challenges. In 2024 the organization received the Jerusalem Mayor's Volunteer Award from Mayor Moshe Lion, a recognition of the ongoing work, mutual responsibility and the Jerusalem spirit that leads it. The award ceremony was also an opportunity to thank forty municipal coordinators who voluntarily center activity in the city's neighborhoods and 1,000 volunteers. At its annual event, the organization framed the value of the resilience created since the start of the war at NIS 2.1 billion, describing it not as a statistic but as hours in which families received breathing room.

• Founded on 7 October 2023 by Rachel Azaria, Yael Yechieli and Racheli Shurti, on the basis of a support model from Operation Protective Edge.

• Activity renewed and expanded nationwide following a request from a family assisted during Operation Protective Edge.

• By March 2024, assisting about 12,000 families with 8,000 volunteers in more than 250 localities.

• Received the Jerusalem Mayor's Volunteer Award from Mayor Moshe Lion.

• Official website reports accompanying about 40,000 families (about 180,000 people) in 700 communities, with 20,000 volunteers and 3,500 events.

The largest and most significant organization in Israel in the field of assistance to reservist and standing-service families, built on community, solidarity and personal accompaniment.

• Help with children

• Employment guidance

• Emotional support

• Meal preparation

• Benefits and treats

• Workshops and training

• Financial support

• Logistical assistance

• Laundry folding

1. 1העוגן למשפחות המילואים | ביתhaogenmiluim.org.il
2. 2העוגן למשפחות המילואים | אודותhaogenmiluim.org.il
3. 3העוגן למשפחות המילואים | פעילותhaogenmiluim.org.il
4. 4HAOGEN FOR DRAFTED FAMILIESwikidata.org
5. 5העוגן למשפחות המילואיםhe.wikipedia.org