how you can help

Tax deductible donations can be made by checks payable to: 

American Supporters of YEDiD

New York, N.Y. 10021          

Phone 212.452. 0107   

e-mail: Staci.light@gmail.com

YEDID - The Association for Community Empowerment - ‘YEDID' is the Hebrew word for friend... - Become a friend of YEDID.

Citizen Rights Centers (CRCs)

YEDID was established in 1997 to promote social justice in Israel, by operating "Citizen Rights Center" in poor communities throughout Israel.  Through these Centers, YEDID is changing the face of Israeli society by empowering individuals and communities to break the vicious cycle of ignorance and poverty in communities that are economically disadvantaged and disenfranchised. YEDID actively promotes the values of human dignity, individual and communal responsibility, equality, social action, voluntarism and tolerance in a multicultural society.  YEDID advocates for change in social policies on the local and national level when the law is obsolete or injurious.

YEDID accomplishes all this - one person and one community at a time - through its 18 Citizen Rights Centers.

YEDID's CRCs have positively impacted communities across Israel, having helped over 75,000 individuals and families through: 

• Individual Assistance
  
• Community Programming
  
• Grassroots Advocacy for Change

OPERATING COSTS

A YEDID Citizen Rights Center (CRC) monthly assists 250 families break the cycle of poverty.

• For $4,200 you can sponsor the full operating expenses a CRC for 1 month.
  
• For $25,000 you can sponsor a CRC for 6 months.
  
• For $50,000 you can sponsor a CRC for an entire year.

RENT

The cost of rent and utilities for a Citizen Rights Center is $500 a month. $6,000 opens a CRC's door for 5,000 clients a year.

EQUIPMENT

Computer Equipment is essential to the CRC's vital work. You can provide 1 computer for $1,000. For 18 CRCs: $18,000.

PUBLICATIONS

YEDID produces self help publications in Hebrew, Russian, Amharic, Arabic, Spanish and French that help thousands identify solutions to their problems and successfully break out of poverty.

You can sponsor the printing of a rights guide in the area of housing, health or employment for $2,500.

Homelessness Prevention

Sadly, decent, affordable housing has become merely a dream for many Israeli families.  A legal advocate can be the difference between renegotiating a feasible payment plan and a family rendered homeless by foreclosure.

For $35,000 you can support an attorney who will preserve the roof over the heads of 500 families per year.

Youth Programs

YEDID Youth Programs work with youth-at-risk and youth from disadvantaged backgrounds. These enrichment programs are aimed at giving youth from low-income families an equal opportunity in education and involving youth in their community in voluntary projects. Likewise, Youth Programs facilitate the active participation of disadvantaged parents in the educational careers of their children, and in the system of education and social welfare that affects them. Youth Programs are tailor-made for the specific community they in which they are held and are designed to meet needs not otherwise met.

MILIM

ILIM is a community education project for at-risk children and families in the immigrant communities as well as veteran Israelis. MILIM works with children ages 4-5 and their parents to help the children acquire literacy and other basic learning skills and help the families support and advocate for successful educational careers for their children.  MILIM runs in Ofakim, from September to June, with a summer enrichment program in July. Twenty-five children participate in MILIM, which meets twice a week in the afternoons, for a total of 5 academic hours each week. The parent group, which operates in either in Hebrew, Russian, Amharic or Arabic (depending on the language that the parents can communicate in), helps parents understand the school system and how to aid their children and successfully navigate their educational needs. This group meets once a week for two hours. In addition, there are joint parent-children activities which serve to bridge the cultural gap which often exists between the older, Ethiopian-born generation and that of their Israeli-born offspring.

Sponsor a MILIM Program for $18,000

NOAM - After-School Club for Youth-At-Risk

NOAM was created to meet the needs of youth from disadvantaged backgrounds in Ashkelon. NOAM serves Ethiopian, veteran Israeli, and new immigrant grammar-school age youth from the former Soviet Union, in the Shimshon neighborhood of Ashkelon. For many families in this area, after-school childcare can be a financial and logistic burden. Likewise, the lack of affordable and reliable after-school programs leaves children with unstructured, unsupervised time. NOAM provides youth with a structured framework that includes individual tutoring on school subjects, social activities, a summer activities club, educational trips, and more. The local grammar school identifies at-risk youth to participate in the program, and NOAM includes ongoing follow-up with teachers and educators in the school. In NOAM, older teenagers provide tutoring and facilitate social activities for the children, providing a positive role model for youth and creating an important framework for voluntarism for the teenagers themselves. Professional staff supervise and co-facilitate NOAM activities. NOAM provides youth with a safe, supportive environment that builds self-confidence, fosters positive interactions among youth, and helps them succeed in school.

Sponsor a NOAM Program for $14,000

AYAL

AYAL is a dropout prevention program for at-risk youth and their families from the Ethiopian and Caucasian immigrant communities. AYAL is the Hebrew acronym for "I Can Succeed." AYAL works with 7th grade youth who have made the transition from elementary to junior high school, but are at risk of drop-out from school. AYAL matches its intervention strategies to the particular needs of this community, and creates a safe and supportive environment for youth. AYAL is a yearlong, extra-curricular program. Students are chosen in consultation with the Junior high school principal, psychologist and counselor, the "feeder" grammar school faculty, and local dropout prevention experts. Students meet twice a week for two hours throughout the school year with a professional educator. Each week, one meeting is devoted to social and psychological support, focusing on such issues as drug abuse, teenage sexuality, poverty, education, child abuse, violence and crime. The other weekly meeting assists these youth directly with their school studies. Parents participate in the program through monthly meetings, each three hours in length. These meetings provide a forum for parents to explore the issues they face and the challenges that prevent their successful integration into Israeli society and what might help their children succeed in the Israeli school system.

Sponsor an AYAL Program for $25,000

YOUTH IN ACTION (YIA)

Youth in Action recruits interested high school students to learn about democracy and social responsibility and implement volunteer programs in their community. Youth in Action utilizes a national Israeli high school program wherein students are obligated to volunteer with local philanthropic organizations. Students who choose YEDID first participate in a course that introduces them to the concepts of voluntarism and social responsibility through lectures, guest speakers, visits to municipal and juvenile correctional  institutions, and field trips to the Supreme Court, Parliament, Ben Gurion's gravesite and the like. Next, participants use what they have learned to implement local projects such as a youth help hotline, presentations in their schools and communities and the creation of written materials on youth rights. Youth in action is a significant tool in developing civil society in Israel by teaching the young about volunteers and rights in a democratic society. This program has also worked across "conflicted population groups" such as Jewish and Arab youth and Russian Immigrant and Arab youth.  The bonds that have been developed are critical in developing a multicultural society in Israel.

Sponsor a YIA Program for $20,000

PARENTING PROJECT

Parenting Project has focused on immigrants from Ethiopian, Russia and the Caucuses. The program assists parents with their roles as educators of their children, a role that is often rendered problematic by the life-changing geographical and cultural transplant inherent in the experience of new immigrants. Among the issues that receive attention are: Difficulties stemming from language inadequacy and culture differences in Israel; problems concerning the schools in which children study; difficulties with children at adolescence and difficulty in establishing boundaries like limiting the hours for going out, dealing with smoking and lying and difficulties and anxieties concerning the children due to financial hardship. These phenomena create communication difficulties, detachment, and a mutual feeling of misunderstanding between the parents and children. The Parenting Project has great success in bridging the generation gap and empowering parents to be effective in their roles with their children.

Sponsor a Parenting Project for $2,500