It’s already started. Over the next 48 hours, World Bnei Akiva (WBA) is aiming to raise over 5 million shekels ($1,393,534) to fund the movement’s programs in 13 countries around the world, chiefly Canada, Australia, Germany and Italy.

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The goals of the campaign are to develop existing projects and launch new initiatives in countries where World Bnei Akiva is active. Activities include upgrading the WBA scholarship fund, expanding the movement’s military preparatory academy, and opening new programs for WBA alumni who immigrated to Israel independently.

“One of our primary goals in this campaign is creating a scholarship fund for students from countries around the world who join our training programs and post-high school programs,” explains WBA Alumni Department and Resource Development Director Ariel Cheshner, who also serves as the logistics manager for the current campaign.

“Ideally, we want our training programs to encompass both educational and hands-on activities in Israel and avail them to anyone who aspires to join. For this, we require substantial funding so we can grant scholarships to program candidates as needed.”

Another aim of the fundraising campaign is expanding the movement’s military preparatory academy. Last year, WBA opened a military prep school in conjunction with Kol Ami. The academy is co-ed and incorporates both Israelis and foreign students. The first year opened with 50 students, and the number of applicants already far exceeds available slots. Immediate funding is thus required in order to facilitate the expansion of the program.

“Another exciting project founded just this year targets WBA alumni who took the leap and came on aliyah to Israel,” relates WBA Director Roi Abecassis. “In order to launch this operation, we founded a special board of international volunteers who represent the native countries of our olim (immigrants to Israel). These dedicated young men and women are in the process of forming a community of alumni who have chosen to make Israel their home. This community will serve as a source of professional and social support to olim, and no less importantly, will form the basis of a major database of names for shidduchim (matchmaking) purposes. This project, which is multifaceted and a sacred goal in of itself, is an independent part of the fundraising campaign.”

World Bnei Akiva branches around the world have been asked to participate in the campaign by raising money to renovate and improve existing buildings and expand branch activities from metropolitan centers into outlying areas where Jewish communities are smaller and available budgets for programs are thus significantly lower.

A major objective of the local campaigns is generating a scholarship fund that will enable students from low-income families to attend WBA summer camps.

Click on the following link to join Jews around the world who are uniting on behalf of World Bnei Akiva, and contribute your part to WBA’s Fundraising Campaign of 2018!

Campaign ends on Monday, April 30 at 10:00 PM.