The Benji Hillman Foundation (BHF) was founded in August 2006 with a very specific project and goal in mind, helping the lone soldier and soldiers from deprived backgrounds in Israel, during and after their army service. The project, which is already deep in the planning stages, has been named Habayit Shel Benji [Benji's Home.]
Benji z”l had an unstinting sense of responsibility toward the soldiers under his command, particularly those in distress. “Lone Soldiers,” young men who have decided to leave their country of origin and join the Israeli army, have no family in Israel; they often barely speak Hebrew, cannot usually rent an apartment because they don't get enough income from the army, and have nowhere to go when they do get leave from base. They must seek out places to stay, figure out a way to do their laundry, grab an inexpensive meal, or take care of personal errands instead of catching up on precious sleep and receiving a little well-deserved care and attention.
The Foundation’s goal is to provide these boys with general assistance, a warm bed, good food, a room of their own away from the army, and of course all the love, care, attention and help that they need at "Habayit Shel Benji" (Benji's Home) which will serve as a hostel for these soldiers -- with all the comforts of home.
Furthermore, The BHF intends to advance its objectives by offering a number of solutions and programs (educational and vocational) to both the residents of the house & to Lone Combat soldiers in general so that these soldiers will have an easier time during their army service and an easier time in making the decision to stay in Israel afterwards (a very large percentage of these soldiers leave Israel after their army service).
Over the last ten months the Foundation, (run by the family and a number of close friends), has made tremendous progress and has raised over $2 million of the $2.5 million needed for the project. The Raanana Municipality (headed by Mayor Hofri) has pledged 1.5 dunams of land and the internal, legal and logistic procedures for this are being worked upon.
Thank you for taking the time to visit the site. We will be happy to answer any questions you may have or you can contact Saul Rurka, the coordinator of the Foundation, at info@benjihillman.org or by phone on 00-972-52-662-2851
We will continue the work that Benji began...
Read about us on Wikipedia