When a Father Serves in the IDF, His Entire Family Serves Alongside Him

On October 8th, 2023, I was supposed to start a new marketing job. I enlisted in the IDF instead.

At 44, I completed basic training and joined the 99th Division through the Shlav Bet program. Fathers. Business owners. Men who left careers and families because their country called and they answered.

I've served over 75 days, rotating between units on the Gaza border and the northern front. I've sat on a base 50 meters from the Nitzarim Corridor. I've watched soldiers cancel missions because they lacked adequate protective gear. I've met men wearing helmets from the 1970s while operating in active combat zones.

The military supply chain has gaps. Civilian donors fill them.

Since October 7th, Smiles for Chayalim has distributed over $1.2 million through Smiles for the Kids Inc. to more than 55,000 people. Every dollar goes directly to soldiers and their families.

What Your Donation Provides

A full soldier equipment package costs approximately $360: ceramic body armor plates, updated combat helmets, and tactical gear that soldiers need when official supply channels fall short.

We also fund immediate mental health intervention for soldiers in crisis. Reservists returning from Gaza face PTSD, depression, and reintegration challenges that the current support systems are too slow to address. We bypass the waiting lists. We get soldiers into treatment before it is too late.

For families at home, we provide grocery assistance, gift packages for children missing their fathers, and practical support during deployments that stretch from weeks into months.

Two Missions. One Cause.

The first mission is equipment. Ceramic plates on soldiers who would otherwise go without. Helmets that stop shrapnel instead of sitting in a museum. Night vision that keeps a unit alive during operations the news never covers.

The second mission is the people behind the soldiers. Wives managing households alone. Kids who stopped asking when their father is coming home. And the soldiers themselves, who survive combat but struggle to survive the return to civilian life.

Why This Works

I've been on both ends. I've worn the gear that donors provided. I've handed equipment to soldiers who needed it that day, not next month. I've sat with families and heard what the deployment cost them.

There is no corporate layer between your donation and the soldier who receives it. There is no board meeting. There is no six-month procurement cycle. You give. We deliver. The soldier is equipped. The family is supported.

Read the stories. Then decide.

The blog at smilesforchayalim.com carries the full picture. A dispatch from 50 meters off the Gaza border. The story of a soldier who survived combat but not the return home. The Shlav Bet program that brought civilians into uniform. These accounts are unfiltered. They are written by someone who was there.

Your donation becomes part of their supply chain. The need continues. The families still sacrifice. The soldiers still serve.

Smiles for Chayalim

By Smiles for the Kids

Smiles for Chayalim

When a Father Serves in the IDF, His Entire Family Serves Alongside Him