We have established many creative and innovative projects to help the residents of Gush Etzion.
All donations are tax deductible in the United States and Israel. Donor recognition and naming options are always possible.
There are projects to match every budget and area of interest, whether it be in education, welfare, heritage, security and more.
Projects
Education
Gush Etzion is known throughout Israel for its high standard of education. It recently received the Ministry of Education prize for Excellence in Education Award. At the same time, the schools of Gush Etzion are a shining example of integration of immigrants and veterans, religious and secular, and Ashkenazi and Sephardi.
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Tekoa "Achi" School
A joint school for secular and religious pupils is not a common occurrence. Although there are several similar schools in Israel, The Director General of the Educational Committee in the Knesset is spearheading a new movement to promote this program on a national level.
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Special Education
Gush Etzion also prides itself on having a special focus on special education needs, both in our elementary schools and kindergartens.
Located in Rosh Tzurim are two unique schools, Reishit and Sadna which offer special needs children a chance for being in a regular framework with regular children.
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Hot Lunch Program
The afternoon meal program is for kindergarten and school age children .The government together with the Ministry of Education is funding this project. Every family is required to participate in funding the hot meal program, for their children. Unfortunately there are families that cannot afford to pay. Additional and private funding is needed in order to assist the families that cannot afford to pay, so that every child receives a warm meal.
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The Reishit School
The Reishit School was founded in 2000 in Kibbutz Rosh Tzurim, Gush Etzion. The cornerstone of the school is its commitment to co-educate children with special needs alongside their mainstream peers. Reishit is a private school which covers the full curriculum up to seventh grade and has 320 children in 14 classes. 60 of its children have special educational needs, including Down’s syndrome, cerebral palsy and autism.
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The "Sadna" (the workshop) -
A unique and exceptional school located in Kibbutz Rosh Tzurim.
The Sadna integrates special-needs boys into regular classrooms.
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Scholarships
Gush Etzion has always been part of the national consensus. Today the Regional Council of Gush Etzion comprises 20 communities, 15,000 residents, of whom 5500 are school-age children. Two ultra-orthodox schools serve the pupils of Ma`aleh Amos and Metzad, while a unique integrated school in Tekoa caters to both secular and observant pupils. In central Gush Etzion the main elementary school caters to 1600 children grades 1-8. Abandoned and homeless youth at risk study at the Sde Bar Ranch which is a rehabilitation farm.
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Youth Projects
It is known that idle time leads to boredom and boredom leads to sin (Kohelet). The behavior of bored youngsters who are not offered alternatives will deteriorate into violence, drugs and prostitution. Stimulating and appealing activities will reinforce positive behavior.
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Sde Bar Youth Village
Sde Bar is a community, but it is also a home, a shelter and a farm. Sde Bar is a youth village for homeless and abandoned children, who have lost all confidence in society,and who, but for Sde Bar would be living on the streets.
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Libraries
Libraries as a storage area for books, and the mere
ability to borrow and return books are a thing of the past. Today, libraries
all over the world, and in Israel as well, have become small community
centers, where all ages are served according to their needs. The latest
technology and equipment help create pedagogical and learning centers, and
provide the ability for youth and adults to have access to the latest
research and databases of information at their fingertips.
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Renovation of the Gush Etzion Visitors Center
The Etzion Bloc Survivor's Organization was created by the children and survivors who fought and fell in the Etzion Bloc in 1948. Its goal is to preserve the history and
memory of the heroic defenders, battles and the settlements of the Etzion Bloc
while educating and reminding future generations of the commitment and love for the people and the land of Israel.
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Herodion National Park
Herodion is without question one of the most fascinating structures from the ancient world. This Mountain Palace- Fortress , located on the eastern side of Gush Etzion, passes close to Bethlehem, the Shepherds Fields, bordering on the Judean Hills and Desert, next to the community of Tekoa, the birthplace of the prophet Amos. It can be seen from many parts of Judea as well as from several points within Jerusalem. The most striking feature is the volcano-shaped artificial mound, which masks the ruins of a unique round structure.
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Security
With the enormous responsibility of safeguarding Gush Etzion`s over 55,000 residents, the Security Department works in constant cooperation with the army and the police force to expand and maintain the region's security infrastructure, oversee ongoing security activities and provide comprehensive emergency services.
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Emergency Volunteer Teams
The recent murder in Bat Ayin, a community in central Gush Etzion, combined with information made available to the Gush Etzion Security Department, have validated concerns that we must always be on guard and outfitted with the most updated equipment. In the last month alone, we have experienced various events including the arrest of the terrorist who brutally axed 13 year-old Shlomo Nativ HY"D that unfortunately support this scenario.
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School Security
As we prepared our budget for the school school year, 2009-2010 we have come across a serious issue of lack of missing the budget for an extra guard.
Unfortunately not all of the schools in Gush Etzion are receiving the necessary funding to cover the security situation. The Ministry of Education has a given budget which does not cover the guarding of our entire educational campus.
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Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is a completely volunteer operation that assists in responding to medical emergencies throughout Gush Etzion. The primary role of the volunteers - trained and certified as EMTs, Paramedics and MDs - is to provide an immediate response within 2-4 minutes from the onset of an incident: establishing a life-saving bridge of medical care; transmitting vital information to control centers and once the local ambulance service arrives, working alongside its crew to enable a swift transfer to hospital.
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Community Services
The Community Services Department helps provide solutions to problems for communities as well as individual families. The guiding principal is to present a positive focus in the lives of individuals, families, and the community by teaching problem-solving skills and tools.
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JCC ( Matnas)
The Community Center is part of the Israel Association of Community Centers. Established in 1981, the Community Center’s (matnas) mission was to improve the quality of life in Gush Etzion’s communities. Its unique approach encompasses a comprehensive range of programs available to residents of all ages and specially tailored to meet the needs of each community in which it operates
Commonly considered a place to spend leisure time and have fun, the essential goal of today’s member community centers or “matnasim” is to improve the quality of life, based on the needs and values of the individual community.
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Aliyah
Over the years the Regional Council has absorbed hundreds of new immigrants from all over the world. Together with this wonderful modern day miracle there are many challenges.
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Due to severe cuts in government funding at the same time that security needs have actually increased, assistance is needed more than ever.
While the Israel Defense Force insist that we provide security guards at every school building, the costs for this essential security measure is not within our budget. Many funds for educational and other necessities have been rerouted to cover such
needs and we must rely on our donors to help us at this
time.
The economy has also been particular hit hard, and we have seen a large decrease in government funding. To overcome this problem we have food projects for the needy, employment assistance and retraining programs.
Education has always been a top priority in our region. The critical budget cuts and security needs have not allowed us to properly provide for the growing number of students in our area. The construction of the beautiful new school building is taking a long time to complete but with generous gifts we have been able to proceed. We still are in need of funding to complete this building.
Our youth have been particularly affected by the increasing economic situation.
This has resulted in a negative social phenomena amongst some of our youth.
There has been an increase in the number of students dropping out of educational frameworks, as well as violent and other negative behaviors. Out of deep concern and worry about escalating numbers, we have been working in a number of ways to deal with the above phenomena.
