For three decades, when Jewish families called The Sukkah Project because a sukkah was too expensive, the Herman family usually found a way to say yes.

Sometimes it meant stretching payments over several months. Other times it meant offering large discounts or quietly donating a sukkah outright. After the Pacific Palisades wildfires destroyed a California synagogue, the Hermans and their company absorbed thousands of dollars in shipping costs to help replace what had been lost.

But despite helping families for years, they never asked anyone else to help.

That changed last fall.

A woman called The Sukkah Project hoping to make a donation. She assumed the 30-year-old family business was already a charity.

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“We declined, of course,” said Abram Herman, who runs the family business. “But it also stuck in my head.”

A phone call that changed everything

For Herman, the phone call sparked a realization.

“We’ve been doing this over the last three decades in a bunch of different forms,” he said. “I suddenly thought, ‘Why aren’t we formalizing a donation process to make this happen at a much bigger scale?’ ”

That realization led to the launch of The Sukkah Foundation, a nonprofit that will provide free sukkahs and holiday resources to Jewish families who otherwise could not afford them. The program is open to families nationwide, including in St. Louis.

The idea, Herman said, isn’t new.

In many ways, it’s a return to the family’s beginnings.

The Sukkah Project started 30 years ago in Chapel Hill, N.C., after Herman’s uncle, Steve Herman, a psychology professor at Duke University and an avid woodworker, was asked by his rabbi to help members of his congregation build affordable sukkahs. He designed a simple kit using standard lumber so families could build their own sukkahs without the high cost.

What began as a community tzedakah project gradually grew into one of North America’s longest-running sukkah manufacturers.

“This just so happens to be our 30th anniversary as a small business,” Herman said. “It felt like a great time to roll out a new chapter that sort of gets us back to our roots.”

More than a sukkah

Over the years, Herman has heard countless stories from families facing financial hardship.

One, in particular, has never left him.

A woman who had recently lost her husband called with a simple request. With several young children at home and her family’s finances suddenly uncertain, she wanted to know if there was any way to give her children one normal Sukkot.

“She was pleading for any way we could help make it happen for her kids, because she wanted to create a sense of normalcy for them, and a sense of celebration in a time that was really horrible and trying for their family,” Herman said.

“I’ll never forget the heaviness of a stranger pouring her heart out over the phone to another stranger. But also, being able to do something about it. We could be a part of bringing her and her kids some joy in a dark time, and helping them to begin to heal.”

Herman said stories like that are more common than many people realize. Families facing illness, job loss, rising housing costs, natural disasters or other financial setbacks often find that participating fully in Jewish life suddenly feels out of reach.

The Jewish Federations of North America reports that nearly one in five Jewish households struggles to make ends meet, and many say finances affect their ability to participate in Jewish life.

How the foundation will help

The Sukkah Foundation hopes to remove one of those barriers.

This year, the organization plans to provide 40 to 50 complete sukkahs, along with decorations, educational materials and holiday resources, to families across the country before Sukkot begins in September.

For St. Louis families, Herman has a simple message.

“Please don’t count yourself out,” he said. “We hear from families all the time who assumed a sukkah was out of reach and never even thought to ask. The whole reason the Foundation exists is so cost isn’t the thing that keeps you out of the chag.”

Applications are confidential and open through the end of July.

“If you’ve always wanted to build a sukkah with your kids but just can’t swing it financially, that’s reason enough to apply,” Herman said. “Just apply. Let us be the ones to figure out whether we can make it happen.”