JNF UK was honoured to be invited to Yavneh School’s Year 9 special assembly on Friday 4th November where they were presented with a cheque for over £5,000. This donation was raised as part of the School’s Am Echad Programme that encapsulates a charitable Chesed ethos.
In 2022, JNF UK was privileged to have had our DIY Project selected as a recipient of Yavneh’s Am Echad fundraising initiative.
The DIY volunteering programme enlists young volunteers to help with JNF UK projects, not only benefitting the recipients, but allowing those involved to engage with communities. These DIY programme activities include landscaping parks, renovating kindergartens and schools, renewing playgrounds and sports grounds, and rejuvenating community centres for both the youth and senior citizens. These projects not only have immediate and lasting effects, but teach the volunteers new skills, build leadership qualities and connections between different communities who have come together to achieve similar goals.
After thanking the pupils, OraRuth Rother, Head of Marketing at JNF UK said “Even before the establishment of the Jewish state, people and donations from around the world have been essential to Israel and have helped build the country we know today. Volunteers and the DIY projects that JNF UK invest in play an integral role in this and are a key component in the success and the future growth of communities in Israel’s peripheries. The donation will make a real difference and help change the lives of thousands of people in Israel now, and for future generations”.
Coby Arazi and Ariela Rose, two of the pupils at Yavneh College said “It is truly amazing how small acts of kindness here go such a long way and make such a massive difference. To be kind costs nothing, but it gives back so much more. We were unaware of the wide range of wonderful work that JNF UK does, and we are humbled by what we were able to achieve and to be part of giving back and building Israel”.
Mr Lewis, Executive Headteacher of Yavneh College said “We are absolutely delighted to have supported JNF UK as one of our three school charities last year and to have raised over £5000 for the vital Israel projects that JNF UK supports as part of the £15,000 our pupils raised in total. JNF UK is such an important community charity, and we are grateful for the support we receive from them”.