Jewish Agency, Mosaic United providing $12m. for volunteer programs
The program is designed to dramatically increase the number of Jewish youth between the ages of 17 and 40 who do volunteer work in vulnerable communities and also bolster their Jewish identity.
By JEREMY SHARONJewish Agency Chairman Isaac Herzog(photo credit: JEWISH AGENCY)
The Shalom Corp initiative of the Mosaic United organization and the Jewish Agency is providing up to $12 million for Jewish youth volunteer “service-learning” programs around the world.The program is designed to dramatically increase the number of Jewish youth between the ages of 17 and 40 who do volunteer work in vulnerable communities and, through their activities, also bolster the Jewish identity of the volunteers.The goal of the initiative is to encourage social responsibility among Jewish youth in Israel and the Diaspora, “in the spirit of the Jewish value of tikkun olam through humanitarian volunteerism combining education in Jewish and universal vales,” Mosaic United and the Jewish Agency said.According to research done for these organizations, Jewish youth are looking for volunteer opportunities to give back to their communities and surroundings, but demand for such programs and frameworks often outstrips supply.The primary reason for restricting the number of volunteers in a given program is usually lack of funding, volunteer organizations have said.Programs which will be funded by the new Shalom Corp initiative are those which help vulnerable Jewish population groups in Israel and abroad, as well as marginalized non-Jewish populations and disadvantaged groups in developing countries.“Through strengthening and broadening volunteer activities we have an amazing opportunity to help organizations achieve their goals in mending broken parts of the world and to reach more young people through this process,” said Rabbi Benji Levi, CEO of Mosaic United, a nonprofit group established by Jewish philanthropists from abroad and by the Diaspora Affairs Ministry.Proposals to receive grant money from the Jewish Agency can be filed until March 15 by Israeli and international organizations that have experience in volunteer activities, international development or Jewish and Israeli education.Organizations that are accepted by Mosaic United and the Jewish Agency will have 50% to 100% of costs of the approved program met by the grant.The funds will go toward supporting new volunteer programs as well as enlarging existing ones.Programs that seek to obtain the funding must deal with substantive needs of recipients which are not adequately met in their communities, and must work in coordination with local actors.Volunteers in the program must work at least 25 hours a week, and the program itself must suit the skills of the volunteers.Programs approved to receive the funding will need to create a framework of educational programs which connect the practical volunteering to the advancement of universalism in a Jewish context, including responsibility, social justice, Jewish peoplehood and strengthening the relationship with Israel.“Through the initiative we will help Jews in Israel and the Diaspora to volunteer in needy communities around the world, whilst deepening their Jewish identity and their ties to the Jewish people,” Jewish Agency Chairman Isaac Herzog said of the new fund.
