Friends at Maayan High School (Photo: Moshe Yona)
There is probably no one who does not know the Friends organization, which helps drivers in need, and not only them. Now, a new initiative by an ultra-Orthodox school has decided to introduce the idea of the organization into its territory as well.
The school's principal, Rabbi Itamar Amar, started the initiative following his personal interest in volunteering with Yedidim, an organization that provides volunteer assistance to people in need. The rabbi decided to turn the spirit of volunteerism into a real educational program and decided to introduce it into the ultra-Orthodox high school he directs, Maayan High School in Petah Tikva.
In order for the vision to take shape and become a pedagogical program, he turned to the Foundation for the Encouragement of Educational Initiatives and they accompanied the school until an operations room was established within the school walls.
Rescue, rescue of a cat and rescue of Hinoma
The calls that reach the students at the hotline (which operates in different languages that the students speak - Hebrew, Arabic, Amharic, English, Russian, French and Yiddish) are routed to volunteers and sometimes the students also go out into the field to help and provide help.
The people who use them thank them and sometimes there are very moving cases such as rescuing children from locked cars, rescuing a cat stuck in the car engine and even bringing a forgotten Hinoma at home to a bride standing under the chuppah. In this way, the students learn about the value of giving, but also receive a lot of positive feedback and come out empowered and empowered.
Yisrael Ben Menachem, a tenth grader, told us, "I remember a call that came to the hotline, across the line was a woman who said that her granddaughter was riding a bus on her way back from visiting her, and now she found out that she accidentally boarded a bus to Ashdod instead of Bnei Brak. I took out the call and within a few minutes one of our volunteers located it and put it on a bus towards Bnei Brak."
Shimon Rush, his classmate, also got to help with the project: "During one of my shifts at the call center, I received a call from a man who had his wedding ring dropped on the beach. The man actually asked for help and sounded very distressed. I took out the call and Netanel Avikasis, a dedicated volunteer in the organization, went to the beach with a metal detector and after many searches managed to find the ring."
Friends at Maayan High School (Photo: Israel Neeman)
Friends at Maayan High School (Photo: Israel Neeman)
"We offer educational institutions, organizations and various functionaries professional guidance and practical mentoring in developing and disseminating educational initiatives," says Mika Dafni, deputy director of the Foundation for the Encouragement of Educational Initiatives. "The initiative at Maayan High School in Petah Tikva changes the worlds of boys who integrate into society as contributors in practice. Excellence is, among other things, creativity, a life of giving, and high moral and social standards. The educational staff of Maayan High School broke through the boundaries of the school and created a real connection to the community through educational entrepreneurship. We will continue to accompany the initiating team in expanding the initiative's circles of influence in order to strengthen Israeli society. We thank Friends for their impressive cooperation with the school and are full of appreciation for Maayan High School."
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