By Wendell Vinson
This article first appeared in The Washington Times.
As we approach Giving Tuesday, a day meant to help us focus on generosity and compassion, we would do well to remember that some needs cannot wait for a calendar reminder. For many families in Israel, the idea of “normal life” feels like a distant memory. And for one young boy named Alon Gepner, normal life was shattered before he ever had the chance to experience it.
Alon was just 10 years old when Hamas launched its brutal attack on October 7. An athletic kid who loved nothing more than playing basketball with friends, he awoke that morning to the sound of rockets raining down near his home in Ein HaBesor, a small agricultural village only three miles from Gaza.
Like thousands of Israeli children, Alon’s innocence evaporated in a single day. He and his mother and sister barricaded themselves inside a safe room for a terrifying 27 hours, unsure whether his father, who raced to defend their village, would ever return. By the time they learned he had survived, news had already trickled in that Alon’s basketball coach had been killed. Friends were taken hostage. Relatives were lost forever.
For four long months, the family stayed in a cramped hotel room in Eilat, one of thousands of families who fled with little more than hope in their hands. For a boy who once sprinted to the court after school, life no longer felt safe, much less normal.
But when the Gepners were finally able to return home, they encountered something unexpected: people of faith around the world had refused to let despair have the final word.
CityServe Israel, supported by churches worldwide, had launched an ambitious effort to restore not just buildings, but daily life itself. What had seemed impossible just months before was suddenly rising from the dust. In a place marked by trauma, a new rhythm of hope was taking shape.
In Genesis 12:3, God promises us, “I will bless those that bless you…” Today, that promise looks like swing sets, ball courts, rebuilt community centers, and the sweet sound of children laughing again.
In the heart of Ein HaBesor now stands a beautiful new Sports Complex—an unlikely fortress of normalcy. In this new building, Alon and his friends no longer huddle in fear. They run, shoot baskets, and chase each other across soccer fields. In secure rooms nearby, elderly residents gather to socialize and reconnect. Even as construction continues, the message is unmistakable: healing has begun.
Beyond Ein HaBesor, work continues in Kibbutz Nir Oz, where one in four residents was murdered or kidnapped. And in Ramat Gan, after Iran’s missile attacks displaced thousands, relief efforts ensure families have food, shelter, and emotional support.
“This happy kid Alon was able to bounce back and regain his sense of being a child again,” said Uri Steinberg, our Director at CityServe Israel upon watching children return to play. “Giving kids a ball and a court and a place where they can all be together really helps their healing and recovery.”
This is what resilience looks like. This is what refusing despair looks like. And this has been the story of Israel since October 7, 2023. Evil—though it has tried—has not been victorious. Instead, it has become the gruesome backdrop for the incredible work of God, often carried out by His church, both globally and locally.
And as Giving Tuesday gives way to the Christmas season, it’s worth asking: What kind of people do we want to be in a world where children’s innocence can be stolen in a moment?
In the midst of all the abject evil that has taken place, I am grateful for the countless ways, big and small, that people of faith have shown up to support their brothers and sisters around the world like Alon. It’s generosity and selflessness that have led to the construction of the Ein Habesor Sports Complex and so many additional restoration projects in other war-torn regions like Ukraine, or in natural disaster sites throughout the Caribbean.
We cannot extinguish global conflict overnight. But we can choose compassion over apathy. We can choose to stand with communities that refuse to surrender to fear. We can support the organizations rebuilding hope, advocate for the vulnerable, uplift the displaced, and pray for the peace of a region that desperately longs for it.
Giving Tuesday is not simply a day to be generous. It’s a reminder of the world we’re responsible for shaping.
Alon’s story forces us to confront the simple truth that every single child deserves more than survival. They deserve a place to play, to learn, to dream, and to grow up believing the world has not forgotten them.
The real question is not whether Alon will fight to reclaim his childhood. The question is whether we will join him.
Wendell Vinson is the co-founder of CityServe International, a church empowerment network that provides basic essentials and disaster relief to communities in need throughout the United States and around the world.