Spreading Light: A Year of Growth, Community, and Impact

Amichai Korda
Dec 30, 2024
2 min read

Updated: Dec 31, 2024

As the calendar comes to a close and Hanukkah lights brighten our homes, it’s a perfect moment to reflect on the light we’ve brought into the world this past year and to look ahead to the exciting initiatives on the horizon.

Leaving the hotel where it's alright to be happy

This past year has been one of growth and renewal for us.

· We began with a simple yet powerful goal: to help evacuees escape the confines of crowded hotels and give them a breath of fresh air.

· During the spring, we organized activities like rappelling for youth and cycling for adults, creating joyful experiences in nature and offering much-needed relief from daily stress.

· In the summer, we expanded our efforts with a four-session program for displaced youth. With partial funding from government grants, we designed activities focused on personal resilience and group cohesion. This included rappelling, cycling, photography workshops, surfing, and wilderness skills. These programs reached over 150 teenagers, and the stories we’ve heard about their impact have been deeply inspiring.

Today, We are focused on three groups:

· Hiking groups for adults: A unique series designed for ages 40–60, led by dedicated tour guides, aiming to build community and help participants refocus on their journey back to normal life.

· Reservist return to home programs: We started with my combat unit after returning from battle in Khan Younis, organizing day trips that combined cycling in nature, shared cooking sessions, and acupuncture therapy. Today, I’m leading a group that meets every two weeks for rides featuring open discussions and group support. These conversations span topics from the challenges of combat to personal family matters—fostering solidarity as brothers in arms. Our next ride will conclude at a boutique winery, where the owner will share his inspiring story of personal recovery from PTSD. We are also working to expand this program by building new cycling clubs across the country

· Youth programs: We’re launching another four-session workshop series tailored to winter weather and shorter daylight hours, featuring hiking, wilderness survival, and cycling.

Looking ahead:

Our mission is to continue adapting to the changing needs of soldiers, evacuees, and residents in conflict-affected areas. We hope that by summer, the war will have ended, allowing us to focus on supporting communities in new and meaningful ways. Over time, we expect to shift our attention away from youth programs and focus more on adults, who face unique challenges in rebuilding their communities with far fewer government resources.