Volunteer in Israel

March 3rd 2011

There is no better way to experience Israel than to give back to it. While you tour in Israel, volunteer in Israel! Give to the people, meet the people. Uplift the people. Become a real partner in your relationship to the State.

The unbelievable organization, Colel Chabad, is offering weekly opportunities to really interact with and offer crucial assistance to those in need.

Packing Meals On Wheels, serving meals at soup kitchens, preparing lunch bags for 1000 children, helping MS patients with various activities, and preparing wedding halls for orphaned brides are some of the options.
Check out https://www.colelchabad.org/Volunteering_In_Israel.bp to find out where and who to contact to be a part of the service crew. There are locations all across Israel; in Jerusalem, Tsfat, Beersheva, etc.
Colel Chabad was officially started over 200 years ago by the founder of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi for assistance- with a special emphasis on food- to the poorest Jews living in Israel. Chabad in Israel has galvanized its energy and created a plethora of umbrella services since those times that has really lead the volunteer movement in Israel to this day.

What other types of things is Colel Chabad up to?

Recognizing that widows are up against many things besides just material concerns, they offer free counseling sessions for emotional distress, career counseling, tutors, music and driving lessons for their children, holiday clothing, and interest free loans. Colel Chabad is truly a holistic organization, seeing the individual as a complex being that needs to be taken care of emotionally, spiritually, and psychologically.

Cognizant of the reality that immigration is a totally different world for those coming from Russia ( as opposed to from Western countries),Colel Chabad offers special services to these frazzled immigrants. One of their special offers is the bar/bat mitzvah package for Russian immigrant children. Annually, Colel Chabad sponsors a mass Bar/Bat Mitzvah at the Western Wall for 1,000 Russian immigrant girls and boys. For many of these children, they are the first person in their family for generations to celebrate such a ceremony. Colel Chabad trains and tutors the children for months before the big event. At the end, every girl receives a sterling silver candlestick, and every boy goes home with his own set of Tefillin.
After the massive gala event- attended by Chief Rabbis, great dignitaries, and ministers of the government ( as well as misty eyed friends and family), the excited teens are given an all-day outing to a major amusement park! Colel Chabad knows what teens want!

If you want to just contribute to them from afar, you can sign up for a free tzedaka (charity) can on their website.
Also, if you are getting married, you can “twin” your wedding with another one in Israel, financially assisting another couple so that they can afford to get married in style.
A beautiful organization, Colel Chabad offers services in virtually every category of need.
As you tour in Israel, volunteer in Israel, make a difference in Israel.