The volunteers, leaders in the Bnei Akiva youth movement, are helping families through Orot Chessed (the lights of kindness), an organization founded five years ago by former Knesset member Hanan Porat to help needy families in Israeli development towns.
The Bnei Akiva youth leaders volunteered in Sderot and Ofakim, packing food parcels, hot meals and working to distribute second-hand clothing. The group also cleaned up parks and public spaces in Ofakim.
The volunteers, many of whom will one day move to Israel, said they felt very good helping out in the towns and meeting the people who live there. “These places are not usually on the tourist map,” said one volunteer. “Getting to know the Jews living here and trying to help alleviate the different issues that residents struggle with is what being a Jew in Israel is really about.”
“The group was great,” said Effy Riffkin director of Orot Chessed, “they were highly motivated and made a very good impression on everyone involved.”
The Bnei Akiva youth leaders volunteered in Sderot and Ofakim, packing food parcels, hot meals and working to distribute second-hand clothing. The group also cleaned up parks and public spaces in Ofakim.
The volunteers, many of whom will one day move to Israel, said they felt very good helping out in the towns and meeting the people who live there. “These places are not usually on the tourist map,” said one volunteer. “Getting to know the Jews living here and trying to help alleviate the different issues that residents struggle with is what being a Jew in Israel is really about.”
“The group was great,” said Effy Riffkin director of Orot Chessed, “they were highly motivated and made a very good impression on everyone involved.”