PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Philly-based organization is sending a surplus of supplies and equipment to the Israeli army.
With some help from a Florida nonprofit, employees at Dynamic Advertising Solutions on Ridge Ave. have been sourcing materials from around the world and collecting them at their East Falls warehouse for the last two weeks.
“We donated our time and our resources to help get all these items in here,” said Dynamic Advertising Solutions CEO Andy Langsam.
He says the group Friends of Yashar LaChayal paid for the physical items, and are also paying for the flight and transportation out.
They will be shipping about 1,500 backpacks, 1,000 pairs of tactical gloves, and 150 pairs of fire-resistant gloves for tank units.
Langsam says the spark for this initiative stems from a 10-day trip he and 28 other men from Philadelphia took to Israel around this time last year.
“We just created an incredible bond,” he said, “and so when everything happened recently, all of the guys came together.”
He says they still have chats with their friends who are currently in Israel, which is how he found out more about their specific needs.
Operations Manager Alicia Dietz says this week, 7,000 pounds of gear will be distributed directly to Israel Defense Forces.
“... We're all just trying to help out however we can,” Dietz said.
Dietz and Langsam say they plan to distribute more equipment in the near future.