My morning week

Between 1997 and 2001, I was coming to Israel as a volunteer myself several times a year, spending every cent I had on airfare.

By YOCHEVED MIRIAM RUSSO
national service volunteers_311 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
national service volunteers_311
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Job description:  
Every year, Sar-El brings 3,000 to 4,000 people from 30 countries to Israeli army bases to do volunteer work. Most sign up as individuals, so I group them into units of 12 to 25, get them organized and coordinate everything with army personnel. The volunteers pay their own airfare, receive room and board on the bases during the week and are free to do what they like on Thursday night, Friday and Shabbat.
They do all kinds of work in army warehouses, such as sorting supplies, checking equipment, refurbishing machinery and assembling the army’s medical kits.
Aliya: 2001, from Chicago.
Education: Degree in education from the University of Wisconsin.
How did you get into this?
I was in charge of the Chicago office of Sar-El. In the States it’s called Volunteers for Israel.
Between 1997 and 2001, I was coming to Israel as a volunteer myself several times a year, spending every cent I had on airfare. When I made aliya, Dr. Aharon Davidi, who founded Sar-El, created this position for me here. Sar-El has just three employees – an executive manager, a part-time bookkeeper and me. Now no one can figure out how it worked before with no program coordinator.
First job?
I was about nine, working summers for my father in the wholesale jewelry business.
Worst job?
I’ve only worked for my father, at a drugstore, a department store, running a switchboard and waitressing.
After college I taught and was a paralegal. I loved every one of those jobs.
High moment:
When one of my volunteers tells me that they didn’t have a Jewish upbringing, had never been to Israel before, but that this experience changed their lives. And I love it when some young person, at the end of the program, says, “I’m going to join the army!” Or they tell me they’re going to make aliya.
Low moment:
It’s happened that one of my bases will report that it doesn’t have enough work for the volunteers.
The bases need to get used to Sar-El volunteers – they don’t work at the same pace as soldiers. The base might calculate that it will take 10 days to do a task, but then our volunteers come, they organize themselves, set up a process and finish the work in about half the time.
It’s not a loss – we find something else for the volunteers to do. They’re always needed.
Who volunteers?
People from age 17 up to one woman who’s 95 and comes every year. You have to be healthy, pass the interview process and fill out lots of forms. Lots of professionals come – doctors, lawyers, government employees, teachers, plus electricians, plumbers – from every social, economic and cultural background you can imagine.
About 80 percent are Jews, 20% not, but they’re all 100% die-hard Zionists. Many come year after year, make Sar-El friends and keep in touch all year, planning their next trip to Israel together.
Controversial?
We’re officially a unit of the army and, of course, everything with the army – everything with Israel! – is controversial. We don’t allow any political discussions on base, that’s forbidden.
But within our organization, we’re not at all controversial.
What happens if they’re on a base and rockets start falling? The funny thing is that when rockets start falling, we get more volunteers, not fewer. The only time we moved the volunteers off the base was up North during the Second Lebanon War. Usually, of course, they’re safer on the bases than they would be anywhere else.
Perks?
Hearing people tell me how fulfilled they feel, how satisfied, that they were able to do something to help Israel. And hearing soldiers tell us how much they appreciate the volunteers. I get to go to all the army bases, too.
That’s an amazing experience.
If not this?
Probably teaching again, although I’m not sure I could go back to that.
In five years?
Same thing.
The program will grow even stronger. I take this work very personally – they’re all my volunteers, and I’m always in touch with them.
Biggest accomplishment?
Every day, one of the volunteers gets to help the soldiers raise the base flag. When I did it my first time as a volunteer, my cousin, a retired brigadier general, told me, “Now you are a part of Israel.” Being able to help volunteers understand things like that is a big thing for me.
Dream?
That all the soldiers I meet, and all future soldiers, would have all the positive experiences the IDF offers but not have to fight any wars.