ELEM/Youth in Distress in Israel, Israel’s leading organization treating at-risk youth, will present its 2024 Life Saver Award to Emmy award-winning actress Patricia Heaton, for her unshakeable allyship with Israel and the Jewish people. The award will be presented at the Ray of Hope Gala in New York City on Sept. 19.  Heaton will be honored alongside Roei Shalev, a survivor of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in southern Israel; Connie Rubin; Rabbi Lisa Rubin; special guest filmmaker and Israeli activist Yuval David; and emcee Jill Martin of “The Today Show.”

Heaton, best known for her starring television roles in “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “The Middle,” has devoted her career beyond acting to philanthropy, most notably as the longtime celebrity ambassador for World Vision, a Christian organization supporting impoverished youth around the globe.

After the atrocities in Israel, Heaton saw a new need: to stand up for Jewish communities and Israel amid a tide of rising antisemitism. Heaton, who is not Jewish, immediately founded O7C, the Oct. 7 Coalition, providing Christian communities with the tools and language to meaningfully support their Jewish neighbors. 

Heaton has also spearheaded dozens of interfaith events, hosted hundreds of workshops, and provided resources for Christian clergy and laypeople to support Israel. ELEM sees supporting at-risk youth as critical to strengthening the future of Israel, a mission that is also important to Heaton. 

ELEM serves more than 12,000 youth in Israel of all backgrounds annually through a combination of traditional and informal therapeutic programs that reach out to youth on their turf. In the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks, virtually an entire generation of Israeli youth were traumatized. ELEM pivoted to serve the newly at-risk population of evacuated youth from Israel’s south and north, including survivors of Oct. 7, and those with friends being held hostage by Hamas. 

To arrange a media interview, email: info@elem.org.