Sands Point, Long Island, NY: December 16, 2019 – Supporters of Jewish National Fund-USA’s (JNF) Housing Development Fund gathered on December 16 at the home of Sands Point locals, 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 JNF Past President, Mark Engel. “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. The Housing Development Fund provides loans to communities, lending them the capital necessary for ground infrastructure to be completed. This initiative is imperative to investing in the Negev and Galilee by speeding up the process of home ownership.
“We are working hand-in-hand with communities in Israel who are choosing to leave the hustle and bustle of Israel’s central cities in favor of the beauty and tranquility of Israel’s northern Galilee and southern Negev Desert,” said JNF Long Island President, Larry Ingber. “Today, we face a situation where the majority of Israel’s residents live in the center of the country. This leads to congestion and overcrowding. In order to encourage Israelis to move from the country’s center to the Galilee and Negev Desert, new housing sites are needed together with medical facilities, schools, parks, and other types of infrastructure that can provide residents with a high quality of life.”
