Dear Friends,

 

As we enter the last month of 2025, we’ve been reflecting on a year shaped by resilience, partnership, and the steady work of showing up for communities across Israel.

 

This year proved the strength of Yahel’s regional Volunteering Hubs. Even amid wartime complexities, our hubs remained fully active - providing structure, continuity, and meaningful opportunities for service in communities across Israel. One thing became clear: the hub model works, especially when it matters most.

 

When planning for 2025, we aimed high. Based on 2023 numbers (close to 600 volunteers), we set a bold goal of 2,400 volunteers. It felt ambitious - and worthy.

 

We are proud to share that we are on track to close 2025 with over 3,600 volunteers. These numbers reflect something deeper: the trust, presence, and local relationships built through our hubs are enabling meaningful service at scale.

 

Our hubs have expanded both our reach and our impact. Through them, the Olim Shalav program continues to engage new immigrants in immersive service experiences across Haifa, now strengthened by a leadership and mentorship component that builds skills, confidence, and lasting community connections.

 

The hubs have also made it possible to develop and sustain new partnerships. Our collaboration with Young Judaea Year Course offers gap-year students on a 4-month program in South Tel Aviv with weekly hands-on volunteer opportunities in Tel Aviv and Bat Yam (more below). 

 

This year marked important progress in building the field of responsible service learning. Our ongoing training partnership with Repair the World has equipped more than 200 Birthright and other educators with tools to lead meaningful, community-centered experiences - extending impact far beyond the time on the ground. These efforts reaffirm our belief that responsible volunteering is a standard that must be set, shared, and taught.

 

This was a particularly meaningful year for our Yahel Social Change Fellows. In a complex moment for Israel, those who chose to spend nine months in service and learning have shown real courage and empathy. Our 2025/26 cohort is already embraced by our grassroots partners and inspires us daily with their commitment and care. 

 

Looking ahead, we are preparing the next cohort of changemakers. Applications for the 2026/27 Yahel Social Change Fellowship are now open! (See below for information on our December 7th info session.)

 

As we close the year, we invite you to stand with us. End-of-year support ensures that Yahel continues to grow responsibly - meeting rising needs while upholding the professionalism, care, and community-centered approach that guide every volunteer experience.

 

Hanukkah teaches that light is added gradually - candle by candle, act by act. This month, we saw light added in gardens, classrooms, shelters, and city streets across Israel. Thank you for helping us hold that light.

 

With gratitude and appreciation,

 

 

This year, we saw firsthand the power of our regional Volunteering Hubs: Haifa (North), Central, Southern, and Jerusalem - in scaling impact, creating meaningful long-term projects alongside one-off volunteer days, and continuing operations smoothly during emergencies. The hub model has proven that with strong local relationships, flexibility, and embedded staff, we can respond quickly, thoughtfully, and responsibly - ensuring that every volunteer experience is both impactful and sustainable. By the end of 2025, over 3,600 volunteers will have engaged in service learning experiences across these hubs, with stories that remind us why this work matters:

 

- Honeymoon Israel couples restoring a therapeutic garden at Riem School for children with special needs where they met the mother of a fallen soldier, Yogev Pazi, who helped to first create the garden as a teen.

- Passages volunteers beautifying the garden at Beit Yitzchak in Rishon Le'Zion, a home for community members with special needs.

- Two separate groups coming to Moshav Mishmar HaYarden - where residents lived under rocket fire for months - to work on their community garden: Hadassah volunteers creating garden signs with kindergarteners, and a Russian-speaking Birthright group building new planters.

- Service learning days where participants said, “I wouldn’t have known this community existed if we hadn’t been here.”

- Short-term service learning experiences where a trip provider shared that, “It was truly the best service learning experience I have ever had in my life. I've seen many many of these, and this was just wow.”

 

When we engage with communities and build genuine connections, the work matters more - to them and to us.

 

 

 

We’re thrilled to announce that applications for the 2026–27 Yahel Social Change Fellowship are officially open. This 9-month immersive experience places young adults (ages 22–30) in Israel’s diverse communities to learn, serve and engage in meaningful social change.

 

Interested in learning more? Join our upcoming info session and explore what the Fellowship looks like from the ground.

 

Know someone who should apply? Now’s the time to send them our way!

 

 

This year, we launched an exciting collaboration with Young Judaea Year Course, offering their gap-year students a purposeful way to connect with their new home in Israel. Each week, participants volunteer across six placements in South Tel Aviv and Bat Yam - supporting local initiatives while learning about the diverse communities that define these areas.

 

One recent example: our volunteers joined an up-cycled woodworking workshop with Molet at the Design Terminal in Bat Yam, building benches from reclaimed wooden pallets. These benches will soon be donated to our community partners - and the next Young Judaea cohort, arriving in January, will add the finishing touches with a fresh coat of paint. This approach fosters continuity across cohorts, allowing each group to build on the work of the last and deepen their communal connection over time.

 

Beyond the hands-on impact, this collaboration reflects a growing effort to integrate service learning into broader Israel experiences - whether through direct partnerships like this one, or through training educators to embed responsible volunteering into their own programs. It is a model of how service can be both a tool for connection and a catalyst for meaningful learning.

Thank you for reading this month's newsletter! We’d love for you to stay connected - whether by making a gift to support Yahel’s work or by following us on Instagram and Facebook to hear more stories from the field. Together, we can keep building bridges between international volunteers and Israeli communities, fostering connection, learning, and meaningful service.