Welcome to Areyvut

	VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES IN ISRAEL
		Ezer Mizion - The Israel Health Support Organization: Ezer Mizion welcomes people of all ages to actively benefit the sick, elderly and handicapped. Ezer Mizion is pleased to tailor volunteer programs to match each individual's unique preferences and talents. In their Food Distribution Program, volunteers can assist with preparation and delivery of meals to family members of hospitalized patients. Their Medical Equipment Loan Center is eager for volunteers to repair and maintain medical and physiotherapeutic equipment. Volunteers at Ezer Mizion are also invited to design or participate in stimulating recreational activities for children with cancer, children with special needs, and golden agers. Other volunteer opportunities include office administration, data entry for the Ezer Mizion Bone Marrow Registry, and assisting in homes of individuals coping with illness and disability. To arrange a program, please contact Miriam Blitz at 02-537-8070 or via e-mail at international@ezer-mizion.org.il. For more information about Ezer Mizion, you can visit their website at www.ezermizion.org. Hazon Yeshaya Soup Kitchens: Hazon Yeshaya, Israel's leading humanitarian organization, is seeking volunteers to help in its soup kitchens in preparing and serving food to the poorest of Israel's needy. No experience is necessary and Hebrew language skills are not required. Anyone who likes working with people and wants to see the other side of Israeli life will enjoy this volunteer opportunity located in central Jerusalem. Even if you only have a few hours to give, your help is needed. For more information about this and other volunteer opportunities, please contact their office at 02-538-1411 or via e-mail at pr@hazonyeshaya.org. INTRA: Israel National Therapeutic Riding Association: INTRA is a new organization established in 2001 by a team of professionals working to provide horse back riding therapy to as many challenged riders as possible with many types of disabilities. They need volunteers to help in a variety of capacities. Volunteers get the opportunity to have free riding lessons and go for rides along the beach. For additional information about INTRA or to volunteer please contact 09-866-6305, via e-mail at intra@012.net.il or visit their website at www.intra.org.il/articles.php?tPath=12_29&language=en. Israel Program Center: Join hundreds of fellow young Jews volunteering this year in Israel. As advocates for the State of Israel on the college campus and in the professional workplace, it is extremely important to understand the experience of daily life in Israel. This is your opportunity to participate in Israeli society, and create or strengthen your powerful bond with the Land of Israel. All of their volunteer options are for young adults ages 18 and over. To register for one of their programs or for more information please contact the Israel Program Center at 212-318-6136, via e-mail at ipc@jazo.org.il or visit their website at www.IsraelPrograms.org. The Israel Program Center also offers volunteer opportunities for adults. Information and descriptions about such programs can be found at www.jafi.org.il/daily/vol.asp. Israel Special Kids Fund: Children with serious illnesses often undergo treatment requiring long, debilitating stays in the hospital. Even when the child returns home, he or she may need assistance. Parents can become overwhelmed by the constant care they must give their child, especially with other children at home. Israel Special Kids Fund go to the hospitals to play with the patients, read to them, feed them and help them with their school work. They will also come to their homes to help the children, prepare meals and assist in therapy treatments. For information please them 212-268-2577 or via e-mail at IsraelSpecialKid@aol.com. KEDMA: International Organization of Observant Students: Groups coming to Israel can call KEDMA to design a group chesed day of different projects such as volunteering with Ethiopian kids, packaging for needy families and working in a soup kitchen. For information about KEDMA or to arrange a program contact Meital Bonchek at 02-500-3303, via e-mail at kedma@netvision.net.il or visit their website at www.kedma.org. KIDS FOR KIDS: Established in 2000, KIDS FOR KIDS is a youth organization dedicated to the recovery of young victims of terrorism. It enables kids and their families to assist young victims of terrorism in Israel who have been left orphaned, maimed, and traumatized by the recent violence. For more information and volunteer opportunities contact the New York office at 212-655-9282, the Jerusalem office at 02-628-1987, via e-mail at yeshara@kidsforkids.net or visit their website at www.kidsforkids.net. Livnot U'Lehibanot: Right now, Israel could use a hand...Yours! Volunteering in Israel has never been as important as it is today. Join Livnot U'Lehibanot's Community Service volunteer program based in Jerusalem and make a difference. Short term volunteering opportunities include repair and renovation of apartments of individuals and families in distress, preparing and serving meals at Jerusalem area soup kitchens, packaging and distribution of food packages for families throughout the country. No Hebrew or special skills required. Livnot provides transportation to selected work projects each day. Optional educational, recreational and social activities for volunteers are available and Jewish adults of all ages and all backgrounds are welcome. For more information and on-line registration, visit the website at www.livnot.com or call 212-613 1413 or 888-LIVNOT-0. Meir Panim Relief Centers in Israel: Meir Panim was established to provide immediate respite for the needy in Israel and to help them return to lives of dignity and independence, via 15 soup kitchen/restaurants and 14 furniture/appliance distribution warehouses located throughout the country. Meir Panim is staffed by volunteers of every background who work together in harmony, dispensing necessities of life and social services in every disadvantaged location throughout Israel, making it the largest charity conduit in the country. Every week, hundreds of children, teenagers, singles, young adults and older guests are making their trip to Israel even more meaningful by adding a visit to a Meir Panim Soup Kitchen to their itineraries. When you see for yourself what really goes on behind the scenes at the beautifully appointed relief centers, when you roll up your sleeves and help prepare and serve delicious food to the grateful diners, you can't help but feel fulfilled and warm all over. Here is an opportunity to make a difference and do something you will feel good about for the rest of your life. To make arrangements today for yourself or a group of any size to visit Meir Panim call 052-6076056 or send an e-mail to volunteer@meirpanim.org. With twenty-nine locations throughout the country, there's a Meir Panim branch not very far away from where you will be staying. Their appreciative diners await your friendly smile and warmhearted assistance. Merkaz Hamagshimim: Founded by NIF/SHATIL Project Shinui at Merkaz Hamagshimim's Center for Social and Environmental Activism facilitates volunteers to work with organizations to strengthen democracy and support social justice in areas such as civil and human rights, the status of women, Jewish-Arab coexistence, religious pluralism and tolerance, social and economic gaps, immigrant absorption and environmental issues. Shinui volunteers work full-time, part-time, and even a few hours a week. Based on the information in a volunteer's application, the Project Shinui staff creates a list of potential organizations that is sent to the volunteer. The staff then contacts the organizations that the volunteer shows interest in. Finally, the volunteer is interviewed by the organizations that were chosen, makes his/her choice and begins working. Generally Shinui works with people 19 to 35 years old. Project Shinui also works with a variety of programs to build volunteer opportunities and fairs for all its participants. For more information contact Ronen Goldman, the project coordinator at 02-561-9168 ext. 203, via e-mail at shinui@themerkaz.org or visit their website www.themerkaz.org. One Family: One Family works to provide assistance to Israeli victims of terror. They provide a vehicle for people to get involved in helping victims of terrorism in Israel who have been left orphaned, maimed, and traumatized by the recent violence. In Israel, they have three offices where volunteers can assist in a variety of tasks from administrative duties to providing direct aid to victims. For more information and to discuss specific volunteer opportunities contact the New York office at 866-9-1FAMILY, the Jerusalem office at 02-571-4516, via e-mail at info@onefamilyfund.org or visit their website at www.onefamilyfund.org. The "Volunteering in Israel" portal: The "Volunteering in Israel" portal is dedicated to provide an answer to the need to centralize the abundant information and activities about volunteering in Israel into one place. The portal is to be used by several different populations. For the volunteer organizations it’s a meeting place where they can learn from their common experiences, coordinate their activities, discuss volunteering issues in the forums, learn about what is happening in volunteering, learn about different events, conferences and courses available in this domain, as well as, have access to articles and research about volunteering. The English version of this portal is dedicated to providing any and all information about volunteering in Israel for the non Hebrew reader. In this portal you will find all of the relevant information one might need if they are interested in volunteering, managing volunteers or in volunteering research in Israel. Target audiences are individuals abroad who are seeking to volunteer in Israel and wish to know what opportunities are available. Here they will be able to match their skills and requirements to the needs of various organizations in Israel who are looking for volunteers from abroad. In addition, residents in Israel who do not speak or read Hebrew can use this site to find opportunities for volunteering with organizations that can use their skills For more information about The "Volunteering in Israel" portal, contact Itay at itay@ivolunteer.org.il or visit their website at www.ivolunteer.org.il. Volunteers for Israel: VFI's purpose is to provide Diaspora Jewry and other friends of Israel with an opportunity to participate directly in helping Israel. Volunteers spend two or three weeks living and working alongside Israelis, at an army base or in a hospital. Their service saves the government millions of shekels each year in salaries that would have to be paid to reservists and others who would have to take up the burden of tasks that our volunteers are able to perform. Volunteers who take part in this important and exciting experience are able to get an insider's view of the culture, lifestyle, and pulse of Israel. Participants must be at least 17 years old, or 14-16 accompanied by an adult. For other qualifications and what to expect, please visit their website at www.vfi-usa.org. Yad L'Kashish: Yad L'Kashish is a non-profit organization that offers hundreds of Jerusalem's needy elderly and disabled the opportunity to remain an integral part of society, by providing them with work opportunities in a variety of handicraft workshops, including ceramics, needlework and silk-printing. Yad L'Kashish strives to be a model of the importance of understanding the needs of the aging population, encouraging the elderly to use their capabilities, and providing them with a supportive environment in which they can utilize their skills. Volunteers make up the backbone of Yad L'Kashish. Every year friends, from students to pensioners, join the elderly workers and staff at Yad L'Kashish, spending anytime from a few days to volunteering on a regular basis throughout the year. There are a variety of volunteer opportunities at Yad L'Kashish. For more information please contact Yad L'Kashish at (02) 628-7829 or via email at lifeline@netvision.net.il You may also visit their website at www.lifeline.org.il. YEDID, the Association for Community Empowerment in Israel: Yedid aims to renew Israel's commitment to the vision of a democratic state, founded on the values of equality, social justice and peace, and to involve Israelis from all segments of society in the fulfillment of that dream. YEDID operates 17 Citizen Rights Centers and Satellite Offices throughout the country. Volunteer opportunities include: teaching English to disadvantaged youth and adults; helping to plan and lead community education courses throughout the country; documenting Yedid's achievements and planning future strategy; English language public relations; website and technical development; research on particular public policy areas (like workfare, budget impact, etc); and media relations. For more information or to arrange to volunteer please contact YEDID at 02-671-7733 or visit their website at www.yedid.org.il.