Where we've been is... at the raw edge of pain; within the dark fog of confusion; barely dodging the border of despair, where so many in Israel frequent, some merely for a temporary pause, though others dwelling longer in the darkened hours since September 29, 2000, when the gravest of hostilities began.

The violence, murders, and constant threat of terrorist attacks catapulted this organization into being. When the mother and father of six children were gunned downed on their way home from a peaceful Sabbath weekend, the clarity of the old saying, “if you’re not part of the solution, you are part of the problem”, rang through the grief and the concept of KIDS FOR KIDS took shape.

How many funerals can one participate in without getting the message, there is more going on here than guns and grenades? A higher reality begs to be acknowledged and that spark in each of us that struggles to affect events crafted a Vision Statement within hours. Scores of friends and concerned activists in Israel and abroad were contacted. KIDS FOR KIDS, designed as a platform from which children and adults could generate tangible acts of kindness ,was created. KIDS FOR KIDS encourages Jewish youth the world over to develop their quality of kindness by helping those Israeli children who have been left orphaned, maimed, and traumatized as a result of senseless hatred and violence.

Within a short period of time, our loosely band of volunteers went into action, which resulted in our first written piece of literature telling of 16 year old Yoheved’s need for psychological assistance for the trauma she experienced from a terrorist attack.  Small as it might seem, we told you of our providing Moshe’s grandmother with needed traveling expenses to visit the youngster in the hospital. We told you what we wanted to do, and you responded. You volunteered, spread the word, and sent donations for us to grow. And we did.

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Together, we understood that traumatic events can shatter a child’s most basic beliefs about trust and safety, leaving the trauma victim in a state of perpetual physical alertness and mental hypertension. Individuals can suffer from a condition known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Our world is in chaos and KIDS FOR KIDS recognizes that the phenomenon of a possible delaid and later to be developed PTSD syndrome might leave us with a generation of Israeli children who will suffer with the reliving of their original traumas. Therefore, it is imperative that treatment be instituted for those effected by terrorism.

KIDS FOR KIDS initial step was to establish contact with a Clinic which agreed to take our KIDS who need trauma/stress related treatment. All expenses are covered by our organization.

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As the year progressed
We entertained KIDS, bringing them into Jerusalem, for much needed reprieves from the strain of living under fire. We conducted structured and therapeutic activities in hope that by expressing themselves in such projects as 'KIDS Essays' presented and published in an NCSY booklet, “where the poppies grow”, we hoped that the children would find relief from negative and harmful feelings. We visited hospitals and homes and offered our hearts, a listening ear, and solutions for problems where we could. We instituted our Eytan Program for elementary aged children, first in Gilo, a beleaguered Jerusalem neighborhood under fire for almost the entire first year of terrorist violence. The program has now grown and is in locations throughout Israel.

As a fundraising project, KIDS FOR KIDS produced a CD Album, THE STARS COME OUT….for the KIDS featuring some of the Jewish world’s most popular singers such as Mordechai Ben-Dovid, Avraham Freed, Sam Glaser, Yehuda Katz, and Chaim Dovid. Robert Ledderman’s Perki Efrat joined with OUR KIDS to record an original song “Yellidim Shel Shalom”, the organizations rousing banner theme.

To depict the change in an Israeli child’s life since this War-of-No-Name, began, K4K produced a short video film, “Roses Among the Thorns”.
Our Youth Advisory Board teens and other K4K representatives traveled abroad to screen and speak to thousands in schools, synagogues, homes, and community centers, raising consciousness and awareness of the true situation in which our Israeli children find themselves.

KIDS FOR KIDS is an organic, grassroots organization springing forth with ideas, energy, and passion from those who’s hearts hear what the KIDS are saying. Like our song says, “KIDS FOR KIDS", we are you.”

Being an organization highly dependent on volunteers, a vital part of our infrastructure is continued contact with our worldwide memberships through the convenience of the internet.

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Dear Friends, we need financial support for the follow-up care of our traumatized children which include those who “fall between the stretchers”, i.e., attack witnesses, siblings, neighbors, and friends of the dead and wounded. In order to care for the multitude of children accounted for under this umbrella, we have created age appropriate support groups supervised by therapists nd facilitated by young counselors trained in trauma related modalities.

As Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has recently remarked, “A war has fallen on us.”

It indeed has fallen HARD on our young and innocent, who are so limited in experience and resources to deal and navigate through this terror. It is to these youths and their families who K4K is dedicated.