Colel Chabad
Colel Chabad was founded in 1788 and is the oldest continuously operating charity in what is now the "state of Israel".[1] The institution runs a network of soup kitchens and food banks, dental and medical clinics, daycare centers, widow and orphan support, and immigrant assistance programs. It also provides interest-free loans, camp scholarships, career training and job placement, subsidized weddings for the poor, and many other social-welfare projects.
Colel Chabad was founded by the first Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, and was headed by each Lubavitcher Rebbe thereafter. It is also known as the charity of Rabbi Meir Ba'al HaNes.
In 2005, Colel Chabad ranked #117 among the top Canadian registered charities by expenditures outside Canada, with $2,623,290 in expenditures.[2]
Services
Colel Chabad presently operates 19 soup kitchens in Israel: 3 in Jerusalem, 3 in Safed, 4 in Ashdod, 4 in Lod, and one each in Ashkelon, Beersheva, Dimona, Ramle, and Yerucham.[3] These kitchens feed 3,000 poor and elderly people daily.[4] One of the Jerusalem soup kitchens is located directly opposite the Western Wall.
A Meals on Wheels program delivers 1,500 meals daily to the homebound, sick and elderly through five kitchens nationwide.[5]
The charity's food banks, constituting Israel's largest food-bank network, distribute crates of foodstuffs to 5,000 impoverished families monthly and 25,000 families before Passover and Rosh Hashana. The charity also distributes 700 brown-bag lunches to poor children in Safed schools.[5]
In 2009, Colel Chabad opened its own chain of at-cost stores located in Beitar Illit, Bnei Brak, and Safed. An estimated 12,000–15,000 shoppers per month patronize the stores, realizing savings of 30–40% off groceries and cleaning supplies.[6]
People
- Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Chitrik Managing Director
- Rabbi Yoram Mauda Executive Director
See also
Notes
- ↑ Philip Spiegel (October 2008) Triumph over tyranny: the heroic campaigns that saved 2,000,000 Soviet Jews. Devora Publishing . ISBN 9781934440131.
- ↑ Top Canadian Registered Charities by Expenditures Outside Canada. blumbergs.ca.
- ↑ USK Locations. Colel Chabad sidebar.
- ↑ Colel Chabad International Awards Dinner, December 17. 5 Towns Jewish Times.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Colel Chabad: The 221st Year. Colel Chabad sidebar.
- ↑ Colel Chabad Supermarkets: Making the basics affordable. Colel Chabad sidebar.