This is the story of an exciting birthday photo shoot that resulted in a whole new world for me.

A couple of months back, Odelia, a superb business developer and enthusiastic networker, came to my portrait studio for her 50th birthday as a gift given by her closest friends.

As the photo shoot progressed, we got to chatting and somewhere along the course of the conversations, she mentioned a fascinating concept that piqued my interest. She introduced me to Israel Bonds, an incentive by the government of Israel to get people to invest in bonds to support great causes.

As the shoot concluded, Odelia put me in contact with Orit - the senior sales executive for Israel bonds.

What caught my interest is a subdivision named the Mazel Tov Israel Bond. As Orit explained, this is an amazing opportunity to gift a bond as a Bar and Bat Mitzvah present - one of my main demographics whom I commonly work with. Receiving a gift like this gives the young teens a meaningful connection to Israel and therefore a link to their Jewish heritage whilst they enter this new chapter of their life.

After a few lovely interactions with Orit and expressing my enthusiasm for the cause, she welcomed me onto the council for the Women’s Division. Founded in 1953, the Women’s Division gave women control of their finances in a time when this was unheard of and this focus on giving women a clear voice extends to this present day.

Fast forward a bit and I found myself sitting at the top of a rooftop garden of an incredibly impressive art deco building on Baker Street surrounded by panoramic views of London with a selection of refreshments and drinks, beginning my first meeting as a member of the board.

As the first meeting in a while, we all introduced ourselves, chatted over delicious sushi, fruit and cakes, said goodbye to two members whose input will be greatly missed, and listened to the amazing Gillian Walnes Perry (see my last pic) who had a wonderful story to tell about my father mentioned in her current book, The Legacy of Anne Frank. After the social chatter, we discussed upcoming fund-raising incentives, ways of raising awareness of Israel Bonds and other future endeavours with these dedicated women.

After a couple of hours, the meeting wrapped on a positive note, with a bright vision of our next steps and a clear direction for the future of the Woman Divisions’ vision in raising awareness for Israel Bonds and a multitude of opportunity that accompany investing with them.

Watch this space for opportunities to get involved, I will be updating you on my adventures as I explore this new passion of mine or if you want to get involved today, click here:

The small print

What are Israel Bonds used for?

You pay a minimum of £36 for 1 bond, which would then be used to strengthen and help support Israel, as quoted by them:

“Proceeds from the sale of bonds have played a decisive role in Israel’s rapid evolution into a groundbreaking, globally emulated leader in high-tech, cleantech and biotech. Capital from the sale of Israel bonds has helped strengthen every aspect of Israel’s economy, enabling national infrastructure development.“