YATOM MICROGRANT RECIPIENTS
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Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), February 2023-   JDC in Jerusalem works to support vulnerable children in Israel by providing resources and emotional care. JDC provides specialized trauma rehabilitation for the most impacted children and families, terror attack survivors, and those injured in the war. Pictured here is YATOM Founder and President Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz and Rabbi Avi Narrow-Tilonsky who works at JDC. They are joined by Chibuki (Huggy), the stuffed animal, who is worn around displaced children’s’ necks to bring them comfort and to help them talk about their feelings of fear & loss. YATOM is honored to be partnering with JDC to support Israeli children most in need of love and care.

Bobby and Matt, February 2023-  Bobby is a new foster parent, who participated in our 8th Family Fellowship Cohort earlier this year.  After completing our program and his state license and certification process, Bobby met Matt and ultimately legally adopted him. Matt is a charming, intelligent 8-year old navigating an overwhelming amount of changes, on top of the hardships he endured prior to meeting Bobby.  

Bobby reached out to YATOM to inquire about microgrant support for Bobby to have a happy and fun summer at Jewish summer camp.  Thanks to the support of our generous donors, YATOM is pleased to provide Bobby and Matt with a microgrant to help with the cost of camps and give Bobby a summer full of fun in an immersive Jewish environment.  

Israeli Campers, December 2023- YATOM is thrilled to support Israeli kids who have been traumatized by the recent war in Israel to help enable them to come spend the summer at Camp Moshava Wild Rose. At Wild Rose, these kids will get the chance to be kids again and spend a incredible, fun-filled summer with their peers!

Melissa, Tara, and Family, December 2023- Melissa and Tara are parents to 5 children, including 3 foster children between 4 months and 6 years old.  Their family reached out to YATOM in the hopes that our microgrant program could assist them with an easier way to safely take the entire family on outings - they love taking their children out but the double stroller is difficult due to needing more space for the kids to ride, while storing necessary equipment. They learned about YATOM from another foster parent who cares for foster children with medical needs, and we were thrilled to answer their request, thanks to our generous donors! This family of 7 will be able to spend more time more safely enjoying the outdoors and attending events with a new stroller wagon.

Anshel, November 2023- Anshel is a vulnerable, Israeli-Polish child who has suffered significantly since the outbreak of war on October 7th. Through our generous community support, YATOM is providing funding for additional  support for Anshel to help him recover from the horrific trauma he experienced. 

Noam and Lior, November 2023- Noam, 6 years old, and Lior, 4 years old, are brothers who have been with a foster family in Netivot for a year. When the sirens [on October 7th] went off, they went out into the living room to play. While they were in the living room they heard the terrorists in the street shouting and shooting. They ran back to the Mamad [shelter] with the family and stayed there for many hours. They have experienced many emotional difficulties since that Shabbat. Noam is back to wetting at night and does not allow his brother Lior to be without him.

Through our generous community support and our partnership with Summit, YATOM is providing funding for additional hours of psychosocial care and support for Noam and Lior to help them recover from the horrific trauma they experienced. 

Gad and Lior, November 2023- Six months ago, 5-year-old Gad and his 3-year-old brother Lior left their biological family's home where they had experienced severe violence and neglect. They arrived at the Omana family's house in Sderot very traumatized and scared. On Saturday, October 7th, they
heard the screams of the terrorists and the noise of the missiles and experienced horror. The two brothers have been receiving psychiatric and emotional therapy since that Saturday. 

Through our generous community support and our partnership with Summit, YATOM is providing funding for additional hours of psychosocial care and support for Gad and Lior to help them recover from the horrific trauma they experienced. 

Michael, November 2023- Michael, 6 years old, has been in foster care for two years. Michael is developmentally delayed and was born in a violent home and went through difficult experiences there. Michael experienced complex emotional difficulties which were worsened because of the inability to leave the house and be in the framework he is used to. Because of these hardships, there was a serious regression in his condition.

Through our generous community support and our partnership with Summit, YATOM is providing funding for additional hours of psychosocial care and support for Michael to help him recover from the horrific trauma he experienced. 

Mishala Cohen, November 2023- Mishala and her two daughters, Aliya and Ahava, were in need of help after the horrific Hamas attacks. Through our generous community, YATOM is supporting them in their time of need. 

Raphael, November 2023- 7-year-old Raphael wrote to us: At six thirty in the morning there was the first alarm and there were many booms. After it was a bit quiet we moved to the house of my grandparents who live near us and we were with our cousins. Then a policeman passed by outside and asked everyone to stay in the houses and lock the doors. We were at home all day and there were many alarms, so part of the time we just stayed in the Mamad (security room). After that they told us we needed to leave our homes and we moved with the whole group to a hotel in the north and this is where we will live for the next period, we will even study in a new school.

Through our generous community support and our partnership with Summit, YATOM is providing funding for additional hours of psychosocial care and support for Raphael to help him recover from the horrific trauma he experienced. 

Noam, November 2023- Noam is a 5-year-old boy with special needs. Lives in Sderot. His grandparents are his foster family. Noam's mental state is difficult. The disconnection from the daily framework is difficult for him and he is very nervous and restless and hesitates to express his distress in speech. In the picture, Noam's grandfather receives therapeutic advice from the CEO of the Summit Institute in the Dead Sea.

Through our generous community support and our partnership with Summit, YATOM is providing funding for additional hours of psychosocial care and support for Noam to help him recover from the horrific trauma he experienced. ​

​Usher, November 2023- Usher, 15, a resident of Ofakim. He was at his home with the foster family and unfortunately, he saw the terrorists walking around his street. Since that Saturday Usher refuses to be alone. He suffers from insomnia and anxiety

Through our generous community support and our partnership with Summit, YATOM is providing funding for additional hours of psychosocial care and support for Usher to help him recover from the horrific trauma he experienced. 

Roni, November 2023- Roni is 7 years old from Sderot. Roni is a girl with learning disabilities. She has been in foster care for two years. Roni and the family were near the police station of Sderot and heard the gunfight that took place in front of the police station in Sderot. Since then Roni is not ready to sleep alone and is afraid of any sudden noise - like many of the children in her area.

Through our generous community support and our partnership with Summit, YATOM is providing funding for additional hours of psychosocial care and support for Roni to help her recover from the horrific trauma she experienced.  

Sara and Shaun, August 2023 - Sara and Shaun welcomed two amazing young boys, ages 4 and 11, into their home in January of 2021 and have loved being a part of their journey ever since.  Since welcoming the boys into their homes, they have faced major life changes - reunification was close in September of 2022, but it unfortunately didn’t go well and the boys came back to Sara and Shaun full time. Then, in late 2022, Shaun was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and Sara was laid off from her job. Despite these extreme challenges, the boys never took on any adult burdens - Sara and Shaun maintained a stable home through the love and support of their families and community, ensuring the boys did not have to worry about anything.  Thankfully, Shaun has made such an incredible recovery, Sara has a new job, and they are able to love each day with the boys. YATOM was honored to provide a microgrant to help Sara and Shaun send the boys to summer camp, allowing them to experience all of the fun and excitement of busy, active days with their peers!

In Sara's words:  "Each boy is so kind, compassionate, smart, athletic, and so much more that we want them to get to experience a summer of camp fun!  Some people think of a mitzvah as a good deed due to religious duty. I was raised in a Conservative home with a mitzvah not being a duty, but rather to spread kindness and compassion to the world. We hope to continue ‘paying it forward’ by continuing to foster these boys and others. We also hope that one day we will be the ones able to provide the scholarship or grant to a child who wants to experience as much as possible!"

Lucas and Kelly, July 2023 - Lucas and Kelly started fostering in 2017 and have fostered eight children ranging from 8 days to 18 years old. They successfully adopted their now 7 year old daughter, L, in 2022 after she came to them as a foster placement in 2020.  Most recently, they accepted placement of a newborn baby in March of 2022, who was supposed to be with them for a weekend of respite care... and is still enriching their lives 14 months later!

While fostering, their home and appliances have definitely "taken a beating", resulting in excessive wear and tear, which they have tried to repair repeatedly. YATOM was honored to assist them by providing a grant for a new, properly working dishwasher!

Jessica C., July 2023 - Recently divorced, Jessica is now a single mom of 4 children (two under the age of 4), now navigating tremendous child care expenses on her own. One of her children was adopted earlier this year through the foster care system, and requires additional medical support to help correct various health issues. Getting assistance with July's mortgage payment allowed Jessica to remain current while freeing up funds to provide basic essentials like groceries and gas to provide for her family.

From Jessica's own words: "I am a social worker for LA County Child Protective Services... I have dedicated my life to showing up, going the extra mile and advocating on a local and national level for improved services and legislation for foster youth. Beyond that, I am a former foster youth myself and, as of February, I am an adoptive mom to a 3 year old child in foster care - for the next 15 years, I will be sowing seeds and investing in her all that I can so she has more opportunities than I did growing up, setting her up for success when she becomes an adult. I also work hard to ensure all of my children have a drive in them to show up for folks like us. I'll never stop working in this field, paying it forward to other vulnerable children - it's my purpose."

Cortney P., June 2023 - Cortney originally reached out to YATOM to learn more about our Family Fellowship program.  Since she was already certified, licensed and caring for foster children, we encouraged her to explore our microgrant program. 

As a single foster mom to multiple young children with medical needs, Cortney needed a way to transport multiple young kids at once, sharing that it’s often difficult to take the whole gang out on her own, especially since her soon-to-be-adopted foster daughter has difficulty walking long distances.  It was our honor to provide Cortney and her family a multi-seat wagon that allows her to keep everyone safe while stockpiling snacks and supplies on their adventures  Little Miss P loves going for wagon rides everyday when she gets home from daycare!

Cheryl J., May 2023 - Cheryl is a retired, 77 year old foster parent whose foster son was born with a brain malfunction - she does all she can to make sure his needs are met, and give him a little extra when funds allow, such as books, music, a new car seat and doctor-recommended swimming lessons to help his physical well-being. Due to a recent surgery Cheryl required, and helping a family member navigate an illness in late 2022, she fell behind with rent. She has been budgeting and penny-pinching to get caught up, receiving a grant from The Change Reaction allowed her to get fully back on track. She also plans to rebuild her small household savings account in order to help manage emergencies should unexpected illness happen again.

Through our partnership with The Change Reaction, YATOM was honored to help Cheryl become current with her rent.

Illia S., April 2023 - Illia S. is a Ukrainian student and is currently living in SJSU housing and doing a summer internship nearby. The university housing is relatively cheap and affordable, but they only allow him to stay until August 6th, at which time everyone has to move out with no exceptions. Illia's internship runs through September, and he needs to find housing until it ends, when he then returns to LA and has a sustainable housing plan. His internship is the only source of income for my family for now - his family's business in Kharkiv was destroyed. Both his mother and grandmother lost their jobs, home, and all physical assets. He says this internship is taking him one step closer to fulfilling his dream - making this world a better place through technology. He's working as a Software Engineering Intern and our startup is creating software to work with huge amounts of data, and its product is already very beneficial for the healthcare system for example.
Thanks to our amazing partnership with The Change Reaction, YATOM was able to provide Illia the funding he needs to have safe housing while he completes his internship and gets one step closer to his goals that allow him to support his family and make a positive impact on our future!

Angela R, April 2023 - Angela has been a foster parent to a 5 year old girl for three years now, and is in the process of adopting her to make their family permanent. She has faced several financial hardships along the way, especially during the COVID crisis with employment and income challenges. These hardships caused her to fall behind on both her rent and utility bills. Angela secured new employment teaching at a local Jewish school, and works hard to catch up on her past bills as she creates the financial stability that allows her to help others, adopt her foster daughter and set a new direction forward.

Angela reached out to YATOM, asking for help to make sure she and her foster daughter have the safety of their home and utilities as she gets back on her feet.  Thanks to our amazing partnership with The Change Reaction, YATOM was able to provide a grant to help Angela and her foster daughter focus forward on their future together!​

Jonathan and Michal, April 2023- Jonathan and Michal work hard to raise their 4 children. Between the impact of COVID on Jonathan's law firm, their landlord increasing their monthly rent, and the additional expenses of welcoming two foster children into their home, they found themselves in need of help. Thankfully, they took the brave step of reaching out to YATOM. 

Jonathan works diligently to expand his law firm and Michal works two jobs, to provide for their 4 children, all while answering the call to help a local grandmother who could no longer care for her two grandchildren. Their decision to open their home to two vulnerable children in their community came straight from the heart. While it was supposed to be a temporary foster placement of "respite" care, the grandmother was unable to take them back so Jonathan and Michal are now providing long-term care for the two children, ages 9 and 11. As a result of the financial challenges of the last few years and added expenses of two additional children, they found themselves at risk of losing their transportation, which is essential for both of their careers and the overall care of their recently expanded family of 8. 

Jonathan and Michal reached out to YATOM to see if we can help and, through our partnership with The Change Reaction, we were able to provide the funds they need to maintain their multiple jobs, get their kids to/from school, and know that their transportation is secure! ​

Erika B, April 2023 - Erika has supported her mother's amazing commitment to fostering youth in their community, welcoming over 1000 children into their family home over the last several decades.  Even now as an adult, Erika provides transportation, mentoring, homework help and more to the foster children her mom cares for, all while working full time and volunteering with local LA-based organizations to reach even more vulnerable youth in her community.  After serious, unexpected medical events put Erika in the hospital in December, she found herself unable to work for several months without the benefits of short term disability to help her maintain her financial stability.  Thanks to YATOM and our partnership with The Change Reaction, Erika was awarded a grant to ensure she can focus on her healing without the added stress of falling behind on her bills.  She is quickly recovering and eager to return to her active engagement with her foster siblings!  

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Brook, Deanna, Will, Jeremy and Naya, July, 2022 - ​We recently adopted our daughter Naya, born in May, in Florida.  Her mother was incarcerated with two other children being adopted by the grandmother.  Her mother had a history of drug use and incarceration and was told Naya would enter the foster care system.  That was when she reached out to our adoption agency and we were called a few days after Naya was born.  

Before our sudden invitation to bring Naya into our family, we faced a failed adoption in January.  We had been working with a homeless mother for three months before flying out to New Jersey for the birth of her baby.  In the end she decided to keep the baby.  Because of this we lost much of the money we had saved for the adoption and went into our adoption with Naya needing to borrow money from a friend and max out our credit cards.

Naya has been lovingly welcomed into the family by myself, my wife Deanna, and our two sons Will and Jeremy.  We are excited to share the abundance of love, community, and connection with Naya. 

Ariella, Garrett and Jeewoo, May, 2022 - Ariella and Garrett heard about their son, Jeewoo, in October of 2021.  Jeewoo was born at 31 weeks premature in Incheon, South Korea. He was a low birthweight at just over 3 lbs when he was born. He had jaundice and was in the incubator at the hospital for 3 weeks. He has had hypothyroidism since he was born.  We have no information on his birth father, but we do have information on his birth mother. He has a half sister that was adopted in 2015 domestically in South Korea. We fully support him contacting both his sister and mother one day if that is something that he will wish to pursue.

Garrett and Ariella have traveled to South Korea and have a close network of South Korean friends, are learning Korean and are eager to incorporate Jeewoo's culture in his life.  

​Valerie and Yonatan, April 2022 - after spending the summer of 2021 together through an orphan hosting program called Kidsave, Valerie and Yonatan had an undeniable bond.  

Adoption always felt like a natural option for Valerie, after seeing how her parents took in other children when she was younger.  Her parents were kinship foster parents and, in their home, her parents always taught the importance of Tikkun Olam and the importance of helping others.  Also, the idea of treating others as you wanted to be treated.  Valerie's parents always made a point to explain that it was on us to be the change makers and to always imagine if the roles were reversed with the foster children in our home. 

Valerie is passing these values on to her son as well - Yonatan is an incredible young man who truly displays the ability to persevere.  He is such a positive, happy, caring and playful person to be around - he has been through a lot in his short life, but he is such a determined, incredible and resilient young man.  As the adoption finalized in April 2022, Valerie was excited about becoming his mother and ready to start their journey together. 

SarahChaya and Yehezkel. April 2022 - while experiencing our own fertility journey issues, we decided to get licensed to foster and adopt locally within Texas. We received our license a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving in 2020. By the middle of December, we had been chosen to take placement of a toddler boy who came to live with us in early January of 2021. To say we were excited would be a huge understatement. Within less than 5 weeks, we got another call about a newborn baby boy who needed an emergency home. He came to live with us that same evening in early February. We became parents to 2 under the age of 2 within less than 6 weeks and our household became very busy and filled with happiness and sheer joy, a kind that we had never experienced before! 

We were also asked to take placement of a toddler girl that needed a home and she came to live with us for 3 months.  By then we had 3 little ones under the age of 3, from 3 different families, all in diapers - amazing and challenging all at the same time! Each case has its own case worker, CASA advocate, guardian ad litem, and usually transport person for visitation. Each professional must visit your home and the child at least once each month, and visitation is weekly. Chaos was mixed with great emotions every day.

As of the writing of our story, our 2 boys remain in our lives while we are building relationships with their moms too. This has also been an unexpected blessing of our journey, because oftentimes biological families of foster children do not want to remain in contact with the foster parents. One of the mothers says we are not her son's foster parents, we are his g-dparents. She is now very much like our daughter, so we sort of became grandparents before we became parents! BH"!  We are also waiting anxiously to see what H" has planned for the next part of our journey. Our agency contacted us about several children who are available for adoption so who knows which child will come into our lives next!

Matthew and Chi Isiogu - high school sweethearts who embarked on the adoption journey together. 

​They received support to make improvements to their home that will allow them to maintain Chi’s stained glass art studio while welcoming young ones into their Jewish Family.

Shoshana Green - Shoshana first met Andre five years ago, when she was one of his first grade teachers. They had a strong connection, one that they maintained despite his frequent moves and school changes.

​Andre moved in with Shoshana in February 2019, changing both of their lives for the better, and she plans to adopt him.

Gerald Olson - After a long and winding journey on the road to becoming a parent, I got a phone call in the middle of the day, in the middle of the week, in the middle of life. Less than 24 hours later, my newborn son was at home with me. Following 15 months navigating the Los Angeles County foster system, the adoption was final and we became a legal family – but we were connected the minute I laid eyes on him.

All parenting is a faith experience but adoption is a uniquely spiritual journey.  It requires seemingly impossible leaps of faith and endless valleys of patience. Beyond the conventional boundaries of biology or genetics, it requires one to redefine what makes family – I am discovering that is a mystical connection and divine relationship.

As a writer and a single parent, the generous grant from YATOM will help support my son and I as I embark on writing the book/memoir of our family/adoption journey.  It will help provide the additional nurturing he gets from our nanny who has been helping me care for him since his first few months.

Kylene Barker -  I've always had a heart for adoption and decided to foster a child within Los Angeles county- as there is a great need locally. I met Baby C at twelve days old and he has forever changed my heart.  ​His immense love, excitement, curiosity about the world, and incredible spirit inspire me every day.  

Rabbi Ruven Barkan & Adina Weber - "After years of seeking to build our family, we eventually found our way via Foster Care. We love our role as part of a team to provide a safe place for a child as the state supports a reunification plan with the parents. Additionally, we are grateful that we can serve as a safety-net for children who need a permanent home. We have fostered seven children, some for two days and others for nearly a year. Our greatest joy in life is our daughter who joined our family three years ago."

Chai Solomon - with a story that spans continents and surmountable challenges, Chai's commitment to supporting vulnerable children is strong and clear.  In her words:  "Adoption has been the most rewarding thing I have ever done in my life. My daughters were born from my heart, and if you think my hands are full you should see my heart️! I am their Mommy and they are my daughters, a special family that was created by love, not by genes." 

Shari Judah - a single mom who has been a foster parent for three years. Shari, a speech pathologist, is currently in the process of adopting two boys all while raising her biological son. Shari's commitment to protecting vulnerable children is worthy of countless praise and we are excited that we are able to assist her on her journey!

AhuvaBatia Chan - AhuvaBatia's experiences on her fostering journey inspired us so much. We are proud to share her words: "HaShem has gifted me with the opportunity to provide care for three beautiful foster children. It's been an extraordinary experience to be the primary caretaker of these precious neshamas, but I wouldn't have been able to do it alone. My community came together to support me and the children; in addition, I am so grateful for YATOM's assistance. It came at a particularly critical time and allowed me to not be distracted by expenses but rather focus on my primary concern of caring for these amazing children."

Jeremy T Singer and Hilary Cohen Singer - from taking in a week old baby with a special needs, to looking after two young boys for the better part of a school year, the Singer Family's commitment to protecting and supporting vulnerable children is foundational to their expression of Judaism's highest values and the need to repair our broken world. We are so proud to award them a micro-grant so that they continue to provide a foster home for children for years to come!

Mary Margaret Rubenstein and Rachel Rubenstein - when Mary and Rochel were introduced to their foster daughter two years ago, they were novices as foster parents. Over the next several years, they poured all of their love to their foster daughter, who, sadly, also faced some considerable health challenges. Though there have been many rounds of hospitalization and specialized care, Mary and Rochel cannot be prouder of their daughter and of the community that has supported them throughout the years. " Our journey is certainly about our family," they write, "but this story is much more about the power of a wider Jewish community." YATOM is inspired & incredibly proud to support Mary & Rochel as they model the best of Jewish values while also doing providing the highest quality of care and love to a vulnerable child. (Photo credit: Shterna Goldbloom)

Rabbi Chaim Bruk, Mrs. Chavie Bruk, and their five adopted children - the first recipients of funds from YATOM's microgrant program, the Bruk Family's journey of adoption and fostering is one of the most inspirational we have encountered in our work. Rabbi Bruk, the emissary of Chabad Lubavitch of Montana, works tirelessly to guide families around the world on their foster/adoption journey while also raising their own adopted children. And it is because of the Bruks' indefatigable pursuit of mitzvot, chesed, and love of vulnerable children that YATOM feels honored to support their family and their work.