Tendler is also no stranger to crisis, having grown up in a country torn by war and tragedy. “Israelis are a resilient people,” he says, now the U.S. President of CaesarStone Quartz Surfaces based in Sun Valley, Calif.

Joining forces with Caesarea-based kibbutz Sdot Yam, where CaesarStone quartz is manufactured, Tendler is also familiar with the concept of communal and team living. Kibbutz, the Hebrew word for “communal settlement,” is a unique rural community dedicated to mutual aid and social justice.

It is this combination of experiences that led Tendler to want to help people in crisis after Hurricane Katrina struck the U.S. Gulf Coast. A few short months ago, Tender was the guest of Architecture for Humanity (AFH), a charitable organization founded in 1999 to promote architectural and design solutions to global, social and humanitarian crisis. AFH is currently helping to rebuild the Gulf Coast area of Biloxi, Mississippi.

It is this collaboration that led to CaesarStone’s contribution of countertop materials to those who lost everything when Katrina rolled ashore almost two years ago. Please witness for yourself what Tendler and his team saw in late Feb. 2007. It will shock and amaze you. But after seeing the video, if you are an architect, builder or product manufacturer and feel compelled to help in some way, please contact Beth Orser at Architecture for Humanity (415) 332-6273, ext. 322 or beth@architectureforhumanity.org.