Authentic and Warm
It was just over a year ago that I was sitting in front of my computer in Jerusalem, having just completed a month of volunteering in two...
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- Jan 30, 2017
- 2 min
A Tikun Olam Winter Vacation
Since 1998 I have spent some time almost every year in Israel. For the first few years, I used my vacation to see places and people I...
- Jan 4, 2017
- 2 min
Seeing Israel as a volunteer
At breakfast in Machane Yehuda about a year ago, my long-time friend, Terry Hendin, told me about Skilled Volunteers for Israel. I had...
- Jan 3, 2017
- 4 min
Gaining and Giving – A Volunteer Shares
I have been traveling to Israel almost yearly for more than twenty years to visit family and friends and take classes at the Conservative...
- Dec 16, 2016
- 2 min
Lived as an Israeli
For one month I lived like an Israeli – going to work each day, getting a bus pass, taking buses all over the city of Jerusalem, shopping...
- Sep 8, 2016
- 2 min
Forever Changed
Israel…… Even writing the Word brings tears to my eyes. This is not a trip that you can simply make by reserving flight, hotel, and...
- Aug 15, 2016
- 2 min
Playing “Catch” in English
This summer (2016), I came to Jerusalem to study and volunteer. My volunteer assignment was in a learning center in a working class...
- Aug 11, 2016
- 2 min
Incredibly Touched
Although I only spent two weeks at ‘Melabev Memory Club English’, it really made a lasting impression, and I was sorry when my time there...
- Aug 11, 2016
- 2 min
A Game of Chess Opens Memories
Volunteering at Melabev can bring quite unexpected surprises. I am a 48 year old woman living in Switzerland and came to Israel this...
- Aug 11, 2016
- 2 min
Welcome Teacher
Last summer I knew I wanted to spend the summer in Israel. However, here I was a mature woman in my 50’s, a New York City Department of...
- Aug 11, 2016
- 2 min
Two Years, Two Volunteer Experiences
For my 2016 Skilled Volunteers for Israel (SVFI) volunteer gig, I deliberately chose a different type activity than my 2015 SVFI...
- Jun 2, 2016
- 2 min
Really Lived There!
Three days a week for four weeks this spring, I walked through the Jaffa Gate into the Old City of Jerusalem, weaving my way on the...
- May 10, 2016
- 3 min
Volunteering for Purpose
I had been looking to explore another world—a space to give me purpose, pause, and reflection. I needed to briefly step aside from my...
- Apr 6, 2016
- 3 min
Passport to a Better Future
Sometimes you just walk into a place and know that one person can really make a difference. I felt that immediately when I first met the...
- Mar 21, 2016
- 3 min
Winning Hearts in 4 Weeks
Adah Radzin volunteered in January 2016 in Bat Yam through a placement organized through Skilled Volunteers for Israel. Tachkemoni is an...
- Feb 28, 2016
- 7 min
?מה עשית היום What did you do today?
It’s not the school bell that marks the end of the lesson. The bell has been replaced by the rousing rendering of a popular song, “Ma...
- Jan 14, 2016
- 2 min
Embracing Israel
December 29, 2015 I write this as I sit in our rented Jerusalem apartment, having completed the final day of my volunteer assignment,...
- Dec 28, 2015
- 4 min
A Safe Space for All
The International YMCA in Jerusalem: A Truly Safe Space for Palestinian, Christian, and Israeli Jewish Teens One of the highlights of my...
- Dec 28, 2015
- 6 min
Atmosphere of Caring
As part of my commitment for my placement at Melabev with Skilled Volunteers for Israel (SVFI) I agreed to write about my placement...
- Oct 13, 2015
- 5 min
A Perfect Match
I served as a Skilled Volunteer for Israel, assisting a child welfare agency, Bayit L’chol Yeled (BiLY), from mid-August through...
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