I spent about two months in Israel. My volunteer stint involving tutoring English, both in a middle school in south Tel Aviv and to nursing-field students at a youth center in Bat Yam, a smaller city adjacent to Tel Aviv. This turned out to be a really gratifying experience. I arrived armed with much-less-than-fluent Hebrew, Continue Reading »
I had the unique opportunity to volunteer at the Learning Center in the Dr. Helena Kagan Youth Center this past summer. I helped facilitate enrichment activities in English as a second language for neighborhood children and adults in Katamonim, an underprivileged area in Jerusalem. To say that I learned more from them is an understatement Continue Reading »
I arrived in Israel this past June very excited about the summer, but also incredibly uncertain about the adventure I was about to embark upon. Thanks to Skilled Volunteers for Israel, I had landed an internship at the Holland Center, a nonprofit rehabilitation facility specializing in the treatment of special needs toddlers. Although this internship Continue Reading »
This summer I participated in the Volunteer & Study track of the Conservative Yeshiva. Skilled Volunteers for Israel set up my volunteer assignment as a counselor at the YMCA Peace Camp. The experience was truly a treat. Everyday brought new challenges, each needing to be solved in different languages and in different ways. I was Continue Reading »
This is my third summer volunteering at ENOSH, a social club for English-speaking adults who are mental health consumers. In previous summers, I volunteered through Skilled Volunteers for Israel at Melabev, an adult day center, working with people with dementia, and Merkaz Klass, a community center for at-risk children, tutoring low-income Ethiopian and Russian children. Continue Reading »
The purpose of my trip was personal growth as a Jew, a member of the second generation of European Jews who lived through the Holocaust and a chef. During these past few weeks, I found way more than that. I learned what it is to fall in love with a country. Belgium is the country Continue Reading »
I cannot believe that in a few more days my work at the Gan will come to an end. Never in my wildest imagination did I expect to become so attached to the staff and the children during a three week placement. I expected an opportunity to experience an immersion into a segment of the Continue Reading »
Just arrived home from an awesome program in Israel. The program was a pilot project jointly run by Canadian Friends for Hebrew University and Skilled Volunteers for Israel-age 55 and over. How do I praise thee, let me count the ways. The attention that was given to place volunteers in their individual areas of expertise, Continue Reading »
This is my second Skilled Volunteers adventure. Given that the concept for this trip was a first – a working partnership with an Israeli focused Canadian organization – the Friends of Hebrew U (“Friends”), I did not know what to anticipate. There were 12 of us and 9 had previously travelled to Israel with friends, some Continue Reading »
Gary Opolsky is participating in the Canadian Friends for Hebrew University program – Learn! Experience! Volunteer! Gary has a unique perspective and he took a few moments to share his experience. From Gary: Bottom line -great experience! Please note that I’m basically half Israeli given that I speak the language so my perception may be Continue Reading »
Copyright © 2019 Skilled Volunteers for Israel. All rights reserved.
Website Design and Marketing by J-Town Internet Services Ltd.