VOLUNTEER TO WORK ON AN ISRAELI ARMY BASE: Israel needs men and women to help with non military tasks. For those not able to participate in longer programs a one week program is being organized for the early part of July. If you are able to participate, contact D. Siegel. The cost for the program is $80 plus airfare. Subsidies may be available.

JEWISH NATIONAL FUND (JNF): needs you to be a volunteer. Please call toll-free 1-888-JNF-0099 to contact the JNF Office nearest you to find out about their opportunities for volunteers.

VOLUNTEER FOR ISRAEL (VFI) is associated with Sar-El, which administers the program in Israel. It was formed in 1982 through the initiative of General A. Davidi to coordinate volunteers to help alleviate manpower shortages during the war in Lebanon.

This program network now extends to 36 countries and over 100,000 volunteers have served, building & strengthening Israel... and each other!

VFI's purpose is to provide Diaspora Jewry and other friends of Israel with an opportunity to participate directly in helping Israel:

• To create an opportunity for participants to assist in the strengthening of Israel through the means of hands-on work.
• To enhance the bonds and sense of solidarity among the volunteers and Israelis.
• To intensify the Jewish identity of the Jewish youth living in the Diaspora.
• To develop mutual understanding and to enrich personal and cultural values through the dynamics of Israeli and volunteer participants working together.

YELADIM -- COUNCIL FOR THE CHILD IN PLACEMENT: seeks to create mirror opportunities for children living in residential homes to those living with their families. Raising the next generation to become responsible and view their neighbors as well as themselves with respect and to forge lasting friendships are major goals of this organization.

Local volunteer families are needed to act as foster and/or adoptive families for 14 to 16 year olds living in residential homes. Volunteer families help these adolescents learn to live in a family atmosphere. The kids come to live with the families on weekends, holidays and one half of the summer vacation. To get involved in this and other programs of Yeladim, contact Yeladim.

KIBBUTZ PROGRAM CENTER: Looking for a great and inexpensive way to visit Israel, experience an alternative lifestyle and meet volunteers from all over the world? Volunteer on Kibbutz! Join tens of thousands of young people who have volunteered over the last thirty years.

Applicants should be between the ages of 18-35, in good physical and mental health, and must be willing to work seven to eight hours daily, six days a week for a minimum of two months. In return they receive room and board, a very little pocket money and lots of new friends.

The conditions aren't luxurious, but almost everybody comes away loving the experience. There is a registration fee of $150, and all candidates must have medical insurance available through the KPO office.

MEDICAL PERSONNEL VOLUNTEERS: Contact Eric Karesenty for more information.

VOLUNTEER DENTAL PERSONNEL: To arrange your visit or for more information please email them.

Livnot U'Lehibanot: Livnot U'Lehibanot is advertising a volunteer opportunity in Israel. Take one week to volunteer to perform a variety of tasksincluding such opportunities as performing minor repairs and renovations on apartments of the elderly, helping the disadvantaged and families of victims of Arab terror, providing assistance to families of mobilized soldiers as well as community service projects in the Gilo Neighborhood.

• No prior work experience or special skills are required.
• All projects are done under the supervision of the Livnot U'Lehibanot Community Service Work Crew.
• No knowledge of Hebrew is required.

OTZMA: a joint program of the Federation system and the Jewish Agency for Israel is one of the best programs for instilling a deep connection to Israel, as well as creating committed Jewish leaders for the North American Jewish Community.

OTZMA is a dynamic ten month service-based fellowship program in Israel for young adults ages 20-26. OTZMA allows its participants to make an impact in a country that they already have an innate connection. Participants on Project OTZMA do not feel like tourists, as they are immediately immersed in Israeli society. The ten months are divided up into four tracks, each allowing the OTZMAnik to live and volunteer in a variety of settings.

Track I participants volunteer and live in an absorption center as they become acquainted with the language through an Ulpan.

Track II participants volunteer in their Partnership 2000 community. Throughout these three months, OTZMAniks give to their community in a large variety of ways, as they become honorary citizens, meeting many families and enhancing the lives of their members.

Track III is a shorter, elective track during which the OTZMAnik has the opportunity to further explore an aspect of Israel that interests them including Jewish learning, the army, etc.

Track IV is spent either living and working on a kibbutz or as a counselor to the young adults on a youth village - similar to a boarding school.

In addition to these tracks, there is an educational component to the program where the group comes together to delve deep into issues concerning Israel and Judaism. OTZMA participants also have the unique opportunity of having an adoptive family that quickly becomes their home away from home.

OTZMA is ideal for the young adult who values the Jewish community, as you do, and would like to spend time "making a difference" in Israel.