Putting the Garage to Use

By Yonit Landskroner

On October 7th, 2023, I woke up to what became the worst day of my life. I was in Tel Aviv at my parents’ house, visiting to celebrate my nephew’s upcoming Bar Mitzvah. We woke up to blaring sirens and my mother rushing us to go into the safe room. Shay my husband, was staying with his mother, in Caesarea, and Uri, our son, was staying with his friend in Ramat Hasharon. After ensuring everyone’s safety, we tried to understand what was going on. We were “glued” to the TV as the news was unfolding by the moment. It was horrific and devastating. Where was the army? We could not understand!  

Eventually, my body came back to Toronto, but my broken heart was always in Israel.  

Like many Israelis and Jewish people in our community, I lived in a daze, as if on a different planet. We were going to rallies, signing petitions, sending emails and letters to any organization that could/ should help and looking to do something, anything! There was a sense of helplessness and hopelessness of things being out of our control.  

Then a couple of months ago, a neighbour on our street sent a message looking for furniture and household items. It was to help two Israeli newcomer families who were moving from an Airbnb to a rented unit. The people on our street donated clothing and furniture for these families, and I offered my garage to store them in the meantime. 

Soon it became obvious there are more than only these two families that had arrived and needed help. Today there are more than a thousand Israeli families that arrived in Toronto since October 7th.  

In the last couple of months, a group of my close friends and neighbours have spread the word, and collected and dropped off items in my garage. We spend the evenings sorting items, placing them in the “shop.” Then I take photos of selected items and publish them in a Facebook group called: Clothes and Household Items for Israeli Newcomer Families in TORONTO & GTA  

All these items are given away for free. People contact me through Facebook, we set up a time for them to come and pick up, often during my lunch break or in the evenings. I always ask how long they have been in Canada, and about their family, so I can better understand their needs. People come to pick up a specific item and often leave with a car full of stuff! Sometimes they come more than once! 

During the summer, items such as Lego, toys, puzzles and creative art kits were popular to keep the children busy. Many Israeli Newcomers arrive with young children and can not afford to send them to day camps. Clothing for young children is also in high demand, particularly now in anticipation of the winter and as these young children are growing. 

We also help with larger needs such as furniture. Friendly families who are downsizing, renovating, or clearing out a home send me photos of what they have to donate. I placed the photos in the Facebook group and arranged for the Israeli Newcomers who are interested to pick up the furniture directly from the donors. It is a win-win, and an environmentally friendly solution. 

In just a couple of months, we have helped over 100 Israeli families.  

How can your donations help us going forward?  

1. As winter is approaching, we are collecting much-needed winter gear: coats and boots of all sizes, gloves, hats and snow pants. 
2. You can post directly on the Facebook group Clothes and Household Items for Israeli Newcomer Families in TORONTO & GTA . Anything from gently used clothing to furniture or other basic household items are welcomed. Consider any items needed when moving into a new home: TV, office chairs, pots, pans, cutlery sets, dinnerware sets, small electric appliances etc. 

If you can help with any of the above, please reach out to me at [email protected] and I will be happy to assist and facilitate. In addition, I will be happy to hear from you if you have any other ideas or suggestions as to how we can enhance this initiative and support Israeli newcomer and their families.