Netanya Volunteer Evening by Nina Zuck

What a night it was! The volunteers from the Esra Netanya programs and projects turned out in force in the garden of Nina Zuck for an evening of cheese, wine and the mellow melodies of Paul Simon. Shimon Deutsch came from Vienna to entertain us and the Netanya Volunteer Coordinators Committee did a sterling job laying out a cheese buffet to delight the eye - and palate! The Mayor of Netanya, Miriam Fierberg-Ikar, ended the evening with a speech of thanks and support to our Esra volunteers. Yashar Koach and hope to see you all after the high holidays!

Bayit Cham - the Art of Giving by Liz Morris The Bayit Cham in South Netanya is a safe, warm clubhouse for teenage girls at risk. Every day there is a program, such as a group discussion with the social worker, arts and crafts, drama, cookery, or hip hop dance lessons. After learning to make lovely hair clips, the girls decided to take on the responsibility of raising money for a sick child who had been chosen for the Make a Wish Charity. The girls raised over 900 shekels by making and selling these clips and donated the money to the Make a Wish Charity. This summer the girls have been asked to join in a project based on the television program “A Star is Born”.

On the Right Track to Shefayim To start the summer holidays the kids from our four Right Track Centers in Netanya were treated to a day’s fun at the Shefayim Water Park by Esra and the Youth Advancement Department of the Netanya municipality. During the year the centers serve as drop-in centers for youth at risk who come in the afternoons for games, TV, computers and free lessons with qualified teachers in the subjects of English, math, history and Hebrew. Strangely enough, there was definitely a bigger turn out for the water park than for the lessons!

Knitting Circle Knits for Needy by Cecelia Kriss It was only a short time ago that I came to live in Nofei Hasharon Retirement Home. When I went into the communal room I noticed groups of people sitting together, speaking in Hebrew, but also quite a few speaking English. The thought came into my head that whilst they are sitting - they could be knitting! I spoke to Tali (the manageress) about this idea and she was very enthusiastic and told me to get started. I also spoke to Anat, the cultural manager who would be helping me with this project, and so the idea was born. Esra helped us with the first batch of wool and we have been getting many donations of knitting needles, wool and patterns. In fact, after watching the first few sessions, the staff at Nofei Hasharon was so excited about the project, that they are putting in some of their hard earned money to donate more wool! We’re knitting sweaters for needy Ethiopian children in Netanya and hope by the beginning of winter to have our first real batch ready. We meet every Sunday morning at 10 a.m. at Nofei Hasharon which contributes to this project by giving us the room and refreshments. It’s also a social occasion, so we ‘natter’ while we knit. Anyone interested in joining should please contact Cecilia at 09 860 1726.

Fashion Course visits Shenkar by Nina Zuck The excitement was great - 12 young teenagers from our Esra Fashion Design Course in Neot Ganim were on the bus with invitations to the annual Shenkar Fashion Show. Most of these girls had never left Netanya and the trip alone was an adventure for them. Thanks to Irene Myron, the director, Shenkar donated 12 tickets to this exciting event. It was a milestone in the lives of these teenagers who saw at first hand where hard work could get them and they came back with a completely new mindset on how dreams are made possible! Thanks to Shenkar College and to our partners in this activity, the Netanya Neot Ganim Community Center.