Projects Sderot Media Center Supports
1. Shelter Renovation Project: With the expectation that shelling from Gaza will become sustained and require entire communities to conduct their days and nights in shelters, residents of Sderot and the Western Negev deserve shelters worthy of human habitation. The Western Negev regional council has presented the Sderot Media Center a precise list of 78 shelters that are currently uninhabitable that are in need of repair – plumbing, electricity, etc The average budget to repair each shelter comes to $15,000.
2. Documentary Film. Over the past few years, film clips have been gathered which show people under attack, in real time, who are eager to tell their story. Working with a leading film maker, The SMC seeks sponsors to produce a seminal Documentary Film that will portray the trauma that the people of Sderot and the Western Negev have weathered over the past six years. The remaining budget needed to produce this film is $50,000
3. Presence in Government offices in Jerusalem. Public transportation has been virtually eliminated between Sderot and Jerusalem, making it nearly impossible for residents to travel to Jerusalem to meet with decision makers, government officials and members of the Knesset to protest their predicament and to fight for their rights as citizens of Israel. The SMC seeks sponsors for a weekly bus trip to bring Sderot and Western Negev residents to Jerusalem. Each bus trip costs $500.
4. Legal aid. People who suffered hardships as a direct result of the continued security situation often do not know where to turn. Israeli Government offices located in Ashkelon and Ashdod are not accessible. Government damage assessors come days and weeks after rocket attacks, and often underestimate the damage done to families. People whose businesses have suffered direct hits have found that they do not have proper insurance to cover damage and have to fight for basis compensation. The SMC has therefore arranged for special facilities for lawyers from around Israel to come to Sderot to advise people of their rights. The costs of this Legal Aid service is now being evaluated.
5. Mobile photo exhibit. Photographs taken in real time over the past seven years of people in Sderot and the Western Negev put a human face on the story. The SMC seeks to create a Mobile photo exhibit for communities in Israel and around the world to view. The cost of mounting such a professional exhibit comes to $3000.
6. A Data Base of Needy Families. Families turn to the Sderot Media Center to ask for help, especially those who have been forced out of work because of the situation. The SMC has engaged the services of a social work professional to document the needs of each family in need and to connect sponsors to families, in such a way that the dignity of each and every family will be preserved. The SMC will make available its Data Base of Needy Families to all agencies, religious institutions and individuals who want to help to people of Sderot and the Western Negev during this time of crisis. The monthly cost of this data base will be $1200.
*Transparency: The SMC works with a CPA with authorization to share its records, bank accounts and books with anyone who asks to see them. The SMC works with a board of advisors that includes the head of the Sderot Business Association, the head of the Sderot Parents Association and the head of the regional mental health center.
The mailing address of the SMC: POB 472, Sderot 81074
The bank account of the SMC : Bank HaPoalim, Sderot Branch no. 649 Account no. 480546
