Real girls, real lives.
These are their stories.

Bayit Lepleitot taught me that my life - no matter how difficult it seemed to be - was essentially worth living. The love and attention I got at Bayit Lepleitot led me into a career as a social worker, where I now help other people in their times of crises and need.

I don't live in an orphanage. I'm blessed to live with my special Bayit Lepleitot family. We are all living together in a beautiful and caring place where we can grow and thrive. Our future is so promising.

During my years at Bayit Lepleitot, the support and personal encouragement that our supporters from across the globe would give us helped to raise our morale and lift our spirits. By choosing to join our Bayit Lepleitot family, they imbued us with a genuine sense of pride.

When I got married, I was a little apprehensive that the fact that my new wife came from a troubled background would affect her ability to build a stable, loving family. My fears were laid to rest by the incredible support and guidance we got from a professional therapist under the auspices and sponsorship of Bayit Lepleitot. I came to realize that in fact Bayit Lepleitot hadn't been an institution where my wife spent her childhood years. It was her super-large, warm and loving family - concerned for every aspect of her wellbeing.

As a supporter of Bayit Lepleitot for many years, I was thrilled to visit the orphanage in person on my recent trip to Israel. It was a most heartwarming moment and it shall forever remain a memory worth cherishing.

Sorting clothes, removing stains, ironing and folding laundry for over 300 girls is taxing physical labor. But it's a labor of love. I'll never forget when one little girl who was new here, threw her hands around me and said "Mrs. Wertheimer, I l-o-v-e the smell of my clothing. It smells like a garden! Thank you!" This poor little girl had never known what it means to wear freshly laundered clothes! It's gratifying to see unkempt girls wearing tattered and dirty clothes transform into smiling, well-groomed girls.