I went to a fab community singing event on Sunday night to raise money for the charity My Israel | ישראל שלי who I didn’t know too much about until last night actually even though I have been following them on and off online mainly since October 7th.

However, after finding out exactly what they do after their initial presentation and video, I felt compelled to take part in their raffle – it was the least I could do. It was something I could do within my control to help those in Israel to work through, heal and recover from their trauma, to be able to rebuild their lives, to be able to see the brighter side of life, to achieve all that they dream of and simply enjoy their lives again – and do simple things that many of you might take for granted – connect with their families and friends after everything they have experienced, whether from October 7th, the current war, or other traumatic experiences they have had to face in their lives.

So, back to yesterday’s community event, the raffle involved only those of us with rectangular yellow stickers on our tops which we were given when we bought a ticket – to make it clear in the room who was participating in the activity they were planning to do on stage later on in the second half of the evening with the audience after we had taken a short break. We had to guess whether one of the guys on stage was tossing the coin heads or tails, and we either had to put our hands on our heads or else on our bottoms. It was a bit more of a dynamic way of doing a raffle but fun nevertheless! There were about 4 or 5 rounds of this before they announced the 8 raffle prize winners who were left standing. I managed two rounds and then I had to stand down so I got no prize sadly! Another time maybe I will have more luck.

I always love getting involved where I can in these kinds of community singing events as it’s always such an uplifting experience and getting together as a community always helps make our world feel a bit brighter and much more joyful and connected. Our feelings of resilience and love for Israel also grow when we learn a song at these kinds of events when we focus on singing all the different harmonies together side by side, whatever our level and experience of singing.

We sang the song “Lean on Me” – a song sung originally by Bill Withers in 1972 – which was a great song with the kind of positive messaging we needed to hear as a community at this difficult time.

“Sometimes in our lives we all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there’s always tomorrow
Lean on me, when you’re not strong
And I’ll be your friend
I’ll help you carry on
For it won’t be long
‘Til I’m gonna need
Somebody to lean on”

(Lean on Me lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group)

The choir leader Hilla Moshenson was fabulous and kept us on our feet, made us laugh and helped us continually improve our performance with her tips and advice. She has an amazing voice so was a hard act to follow, but she did get me singing soprano which I don’t normally sing which is a little bit out of my comfort zone. Normally, in my local Rock Choir sessions, I sing in the lower altos but it is fun singing the higher notes and can sometimes get you feeling a bit giddy but always in a good way! Time went quickly and spirits were high by the end.

Here’s a recording of what we sang last night:

MyIsrael do incredible work. They help teens who struggle with addiction, isolation, and neglect. They help the elderly. They help women and men devastated by October 7th heal through therapy, holistic care, and giving them the strength to rebuild. They have a whole range of different projects including the use of art, animal and yoga therapy to help people through their trauma – they provide a safe space for people to be themselves, feel alive within and not defined by their trauma. A well-worthy cause.

Do check out MyIsrael charity’s website for more information about what they do.