UJA's 2011 Walk with Israel Family Challenge

Where the Money Goes

By walking together, with your friends and loved ones as a Family Team, not only will you be enjoying all the benefits of the annual Walk With Israel, but you'll be helping other families as well – the men, women and children of Israel.

Funds raised through the Walk will support UJA funded programs in Israel, including immigration and absorption of new Olim, as well as remarkable programs that benefit vulnerable communities in Sderot, Bat Yam and Eilat.


Bat Yam: Bat-Yam is home to the fastest growing Ethiopian-Israeli community in Israel. This community is also vulnerable and living in poverty. UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, together with its Israeli partners work together to…

• Reduce social gaps and educational deprivation of at-risk children and youth through hot meal programs, after school activity and educational enrichment initiatives
  
  
• Increase social mobility and economic independence for Ethiopian Israelis through professional and vocational training in various lines of work, including nursing, early childhood education, bus driving, bookkeeping and more
  
  
• Develop local young leadership and attract new residents to be agents of change and role models for the community
  
  
  

Eilat/Eilot Region: At Israel's southern tip, UJA Federation is transforming the region. Through UIA Federations Canada, UJA dollars are used in higher education and programs for young people, teaching future generation about renewable energy and sustainable development, career development and healthcare. Just six years ago, the matriculation (college or university enrolment) among youth in Eilat stood at 27%. Following tailored UJA Federation programs in the region that bridge educational gaps and discourage teens from dropping out of school, this rate rose to 72%, well over the national average. In addition, the Federation sponsored programs enabled
Eilat's teachers and students to improve their skills through training outside the classroom. As a result, thanks to UJA Federation, the city of Eilat was awarded the prestigious Israel Prize for Education, and today is ranked eighth out of 250 municipalities for its high school matriculation rate.

Sderot: The residents of this beleaguered city have found themselves on the front-line of unprecedented rocket attacks over the past decade. UJA has responded strategically to Sderot's needs, investing more than $2 million over three years in urgent social welfare and educational projects. Funds raised by UJA's Walk With Israel Family Challenge will ensure that essential programs in Sderot will continue to strengthen the community and its residents.