Standing Together’s mission is to give the worldwide community an opportunity to show our appreciation to the young men and women of the Israel Defense Forces. Standing Together, run almost entirely by volunteers, includes as many people as possible in expressing gratitude to the soldiers who risk their lives everyday for the safety of the people, visitors and holy places of Israel. With our truck and Hospitality Trailer, Standing Together volunteers visit IDF soldiers regularly to offer support, gratitude, treats, hot and cold drinks and smiles. This encourages the soldiers to keep up their hard work. Standing Together is constantly looking for new ways to make a difference in the lives of those who make a difference in Israel.

A few thoughts about Standing Together’s Yom HaAtmaut BBQs.  As the only employee of Standing Together, I can tell you that this is a huge undertaking for a small organization.  Our Director, David Landau, his son Rami Landau and I spent some very long days working endlessly on trying to make it all work.  Coordinating the Army Management, base commanders and volunteers’ needs in addition to purchasing and delivering meat for 3200 people is no small feat and most of it has to be done at the last minute.

I tell people every time that even if I was not personally invested in this project, this is the best way I could think of to spend Yom HaAtzmaut .  The idea of making a celebration for the people who are protecting the independence we are celebrating seems so logical and basic. I believe it is the most meaningful way to teach our children and remind ourselves what this day is all about and I think most of our volunteers feel the same way.

The soldiers I met said that they would have had a basically easy but boring day.  They would have barely noticed it was Yom HaAtzmaut except for the fact that most of the group was allowed to sleep in their tents till 9AM.  They were young, enthusiastic and appreciative.  They took the time to visit with the volunteers, play games with the kids and enjoy a special meal and it was a great experience for everyone.  As many Standing Together experiences, we are not sure who enjoyed it more, the soldiers or the volunteers.

One of the most beautiful things I have seen was the sea of volunteers in blue and white taking such great care of our guys in green.  It made all the hard work and arrangements worthwhile.  A special thank you to all of our volunteers and sponsors for making this day a success.