Founder, Chairperson and CEO
Irit Oren Gundars is a social activist, philanthropist, entrepreneur, and founder and chairperson of the Or L'mishpachot Association. She is an expert in bereavement support, with a focus on bereavement related to fallen IDF soldiers in Israel. She has received several prestigious awards: the President of Israel's Volunteer Award (2013), the Social Excellence Award from the Israel-Sderot Conference for Society (2018), the Paul Harris Award for Community Contribution (2019), and the Begin Prize for Contribution to the Nation of Israel (2022).
Irit envisioned and pioneered a unique and groundbreaking approach to coping with loss and military bereavement. She established systems of rehabilitation, empowerment, and resilience for parents who lost children during IDF service. Her approach is based on academic research and practical activity in the field of positive psychology, resulting in a structured methodology that helps bereaved families build meaningful lives alongside grief and memory.
One of her most renowned initiatives is the "Ray of Light for New Life" project, which supports bereaved parents during fresh grief with innovative tools for having another child. She also leads legislative work with Israeli government and legal bodies to promote the “Continuity Law”, which would allow bereaved parents to use posthumous sperm retrieval to bring a child into the world — continuing the family line.
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עירית:
"בתפקידי במדי צה"ל נחשפתי להורים שאיבדו את ילדיהם בשירות הצבאי. ביקרתי את המשפחות בשעותיהן הקשות ביותר, משפחות נפלאות בשעה של שבר גדול. ההכרה שיש אימהות ואבות רבים, המצפים לשווא לבנים ולבנות, שלא ישובו עוד, הכתה בליבי ונגעה בעמקי נשמתי.
הרגשתי צורך עז לחבק ולעודד, לתמוך ולסייע, רציתי לשנות ולהשפיע. בקיץ 2006 קיימתי בביתי את המפגש הראשון למשפחות שותפות גורל, מתוך רצון לקרב ביניהן באהבה."
