The Best Thing in the World is to Do Good Deeds for Others

Yasher Koach! Well done to the staff, volunteers and children of Neve Hanna Children’s Home who are part of the STREETLIGHT program. Another beautiful and successful year through the mission of collecting donations, packing and delivering food and products to 120 needy families in the Kiryat Gat community. May it be a good year, a sweet year for those families.

Throughout the year, especially on Rosh Hashana and Passover, the children and young adults are dedicated and passionate in their efforts.  Our children, volunteers, teachers and staff work hard, raising funds, collecting food products, and packing approximately 120 meals of food for families towards the holidays.

Neve Hanna Children’s Home, in Kiryat Gat, Israel, provides a loving home for at-risk children from dysfunctional families. In 2009, with the initiative of a staff member, a group gathered, to begin a Teenage “Good Deeds” Youth Welfare Club where the children could be actively involved and engaged in Tikkun Olam, a Jewish way of giving and doing for others.

Until now, at Neve Hanna, these teens only experienced “receiving,” so it was clear that this would be a perfect opportunity to have them reverse roles and experience “giving.” This resulted in founding the first SACHI (Sayeret Chesed Yechudit) group ever in Neve Hanna. Over the years, it developed into an Israeli nationwide youth movement.

In 2019, under the strong leadership of Neve Hanna’s director, Itzik Bohadana, the Neve Hanna branch of this youth welfare club movement became independent aiming to develop a program reflecting the uniqueness of the Neve Hanna Children´s Home. Thus, Streetlight was born.

The children can join Streetlight, at the age of 12 or 13, after their B’nai Mitzvah. They take care of all the logistics, the fundraising, planning, purchasing and packing of the parcels with basic food supplies for families in need in their area as well as the distribution. They commit their free time volunteering two evenings a week. One evening is educational learning and discussing social activism, tolerance, mutual respect, giving and sharing, friendship and how they can grow into young leadership roles. Committing to values is a learned experience.

During their second weekly meeting, the teens create food packages to be handed out to those in need, in the Kiryat Gat community. This becomes a very personal experience for each teenager – very often a life-changing experience.  

The teens also request donations of money and food, from private individuals and companies. During their meeting, it is decided who to approach for money and which stores to ask for grocery item donations.

Streetlight shows the teens that through good deeds, no matter the size, they can help make a difference to others.

Go to STREETLIGHT If you would like to make a donation to the program. Donations of all sizes are welcome with gratitude and are tax deductible.  AFNH is a 501C tax exempt organization.

Neve Hanna Children’s Home is teaching the children the values of Tikkun Olam through acts of Chesed. The children are learning the foundations of Jewish service by giving back to the community spreading light throughout Kiryat Gat and the surrounding area, bringing joy to those in need.