Jewish National Fund *
JNF and its partners must grapple with the challenge of balancing the phenomenal growth and development Israel has experienced in the last decade with the maintenance of an ecologically sound environment. JNF has been increasingly responsive to the rapidly evolving needs of the country: new water resources, including finding alternative techniques for utilizing waste water as well as brackish and flood water sources, soil conservation issues and river restoration. JNF, historically committed to strengthening the ties between man and land, has led successful efforts to ensure the legislative protection of designated areas and forests. With today’s technological advances, JNF’s role as guardian of the land becomes ever more critical.
Project or Activity: There are always opportunities to volunteer at JNF. Visit the page of your local office to learn more about how you can get involved or to sign up to volunteer at our Green Sunday Phone-a-thon.
Contact Information: Debbie Regent; www.jnf.org
Neve Michael
Neve Michael Children’s Village is the only multidisciplinary children’s home in Israel. Besides providing refuge and a loving home for over 250 children and youth at risk, the Home has a 24-hour Emergency Crisis Center, the first Teenage Girls’ Crisis Center in Israel, an Elementary School on the premises, Day Care facilities that also serve disadvantaged children in the area, a Therapy Enrichment Center tailored to meet the individual needs of the children, and an External Crisis Center and Therapy Counseling Unit which helps keep families at risk intact, even under the most trying circumstances.
Project or Activity: Bar/Bat Mitzvah Twinning Program
Celebrate in Israel: You can celebrate your child’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebration in Neve Michael Children’s home in Pardes Hana, Israel. Just send us your child’s name, photo and details and we send you a boy/girl with whom you immediately start to correspond. You send us your date of arrival and we plan a wonderful celebration for you and your guests. From our experience, this is something that will remain forever in your memories.
Celebrate at home: You can celebrating you child’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah in your home town. You send us your child’s name, photo and details and we send you a boy/girl with whom you immediately start to correspond. We also send you a Bar/Bat Mitzvah package by e-mail with details of activities for the children to do. Many families choose to donate a portion of gifts received to our children in Neve Michael.
Sponsor a Child’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah: Create a fundraiser to pay for a child’s b’nai mitzvah. Bar/Bat Mitzvah program per child, including tefilin, siddur, clothes and a trip to the Kotel-$1800
Contact Information: Hava Levene at hava@nevemichael.com
American Friends of Magen David Adom – Red Bag of Courage
Members of youth groups and children preparing for bar and bat mitzvah celebrations can save lives through this exciting mitzvah project, helping raise the funds needed to stock an Israeli paramedic’s bag with bandages, oxygen masks, syringes, medical equipment, and medicine.
Funds can be raised through runs, walk-a-thons, bake sales, or any variety of ways. American Friends of Magen David Adom, Israel’s affiliate to the Red Cross, will be there to guide you. Participants who raise a minimum of $1,000 will receive their own monogrammed red bag, which can be used for school, gym, or as a memento of their good deed.
Contact Information: www.afmda.org; AFMDA Southeast Region: Mark W. Glickman, Regional Director; Phone: 954-457-9766
Boys Town Jerusalem
BoysTown Jerusalem’s new Bar/Bat Mitzvah Tribute Program lets you select a mitzvah project in Israel and enables you to create a web page in conjunction with your special day. Each page shares the story of a specific bar/bat mitzvah celebrant and the project they have selected, and provides the opportunity to make an online donation to Boys Town in their honor. It’s a meaningful way to support the vital work Boys Town does in turning disadvantaged young boys from difficult circumstances into young men with limitless futures, and provides the opportunity to support Israel’s leaders of tomorrow.
Contact Information: www.boystownjerusalem.org; Tel: 305-654-0001; btjfla@boystownjerusalem.org
OneFamily Fund
OneFamily is the family of Israel’s victims of terror attacks – those who have been bereaved, those who have been maimed, and those suffering from post-trauma as a result of terrorist attacks since 2001. OneFamily empowers victims of terror to rebuild their lives, rehabilitate and reintegrate through emotional, legal, and financial assistance programs geared toward each of the following: Orphans, Bereaved Parents and Siblings, Widows and Widowers, and Wounded Victims
Project or Activity: Bar/Bat Mitzvah Twinning
For a donation of $1800, you can twin with a Bar or Bat Mitzvah kid in Israel. You will receive a profile of the boy or girl you twin with, and addresses, phone numbers and emails will be exchanged. We encourage the “twins” and their families to remain in touch, and when your family visits Israel, we arrange for you to meet with the family of your twin.
Contact Information: www.onefamilytogether.org, Phone: 646-289-8600, Rachel Schwartz, US Manager – rachel@OneFamilyFund.org
Leket Israel
Serving as the country’s National Food Bank and largest food rescue network, Leket Israel works to alleviate the problem of nutritional insecurity amongst the growing numbers of Israel’s poor. In 2013, with the help of 45,000 volunteers, Leket Israel will rescue and distribute over 25 million lbs of produce and perishable goods, 1 million prepared meals, and 1.5 million (8,400/school day) volunteer prepared sandwiches to underprivileged children. Food, that would have otherwise gone to waste, is redistributed to hundreds of nonprofit partners caring for the needy. Leket Israel offers nutrition education, capacity building, and food safety projects to further assist our partners.
Contact Information: leket.org.il/english; 201-331-0070;
elena@leket.us
AIPAC – The American Israels Public Affairs Committee
AIPAC is a 100,000-member grassroots movement of activists committed to ensuring Israel’s security and protecting American interests in the Middle East and around the world. AIPAC’s priority is to ensure that both America and Israel remain strong and that they collaborate closely together.
Contact Information: www.aipac.org; Lorelei and Bob Ennis at akidsbook@aol.com
