Supporters of Jewish National Fund-USA’s Housing Development Fund gathered on Dec. 16 at the home of Sands Point residents Mark and JoAnn Engel to hear updates on how their support is providing affordable housing with access to schools, jobs, and other amenities to communities in Israel’s northern Galilee and southern Negev region.
During the event, Mark and JoAnn Engel were also presented with a plaque in recognition of their generous support of the Housing Development Fund.
“I was honored to open up my home and host current and future supporters of JNF’s Housing Development Fund,” said Mark Engel, past president of JNF. “JNF’s Housing Development Fund is one of the organization’s signature initiatives and attracts major philanthropists who want to make an impact in Israel while supporting young families looking to build new lives for themselves and their children.”
JNF is the leading philanthropic organization for Israel that supports critical environmental and nation-building activities in Israel’s north and south. Through its One Billion Dollar Roadmap for the Next Decade, JNF is building housing sites in Israel’s north and south, providing fire trucks and stations, planting trees, creating employment opportunities, developing water infrastructure, and delivering ongoing therapeutic, emotional and psychological assistance.
In addition, JNF is boosting tourism, building medical centers, preserving heritage sites, supporting people with special needs and disabilities, and funding groundbreaking research centers.
“The Sands Point and Long Island community are known for their charitable giving,” said JNF Chief Development Officer Rick Krosnick. “We live in an age where discerning philanthropists are choosing to make targeted gifts toward projects that are strategic, impactful, and visionary. JNF donors know their philanthropic investments are having a big impact in Israel and those who specifically support the JNF Housing Development Fund have already helped more than one thousand families attain the dream of owning their first home. Few experiences come close to the way our donors feel when they visit young families in Israel who are building new lives, hopes, and dreams for themselves, because they have a roof over their head and the infrastructure around them to succeed.”
JNF’s Housing Development Fund provides targeted funding for physical infrastructure which is needed to commence the home building process in Israel.
