Shiur Acher (A Different Lesson): Every Child has the Right to Dream

A Model for Business and Public Sector Volunteering

for the Empowerment of Underprivileged Children

Goals

• To promote and empower underprivileged children, to enrich their world and expand their scope of dreams.
• To enable citizens to contribute to education, and to become familiar with other faces of society.
• To refresh the education system and promote collegiality between schools and business and public sector organizations.

The Need

• Underprivileged children are not exposed to the range of educational stimuli and worlds of content to which other children are often exposed, and at times do not feel an integral part of society;

• Professionals from the business and public sectors constitute a great source of knowledge and can serve as inspirational role models, but generally do not have the time or the platform to volunteer and give of themselves in a meaningful and systematic way.

The Solution

A professional framework that efficiently and effectively channels the knowledge, motivation and volunteer potential of the busy career professionals, to empower underprivileged children.

The Method

• Groups of employees from business corporations and public institutions teach enrichment courses in their fields of expertise, in schools that serve underprivileged children;
• The volunteers work in rotation, and as such, can together create a lasting and meaningful impact, without any of them individually needing to invest a significant amount of time;
• The experienced "Shiur Acher" team provides the professional, pedagogical and logistical framework, including engaging and training volunteers, locating schools, providing ongoing support and curriculum development.

Shiur Acher's Expertise

• Recruiting business and public sector organizations and sustaining their senior, professional and administrative personnel;
• Training volunteers, providing ongoing pedagogical and logistical support, connecting appropriate schools and triggering additional channels of contribution;
• Developing curricula (lesson plans and activities) based on the fields of expertise of the volunteers and adapted to the various student audiences;

The Result

Thousands of students (Jews, Arab, new-immigrants, at-risk youth) are exposed to new values, role-models and fields of interest that encourage them to cultivate personal aspirations, to believe that their future is in their hands, and to dare to dream different dreams!

Citizens who can contribute and make a difference get the opportunity to be involved in education. Among the volunteers: Judges, lawyers, doctors, accountants, economists, engineers, architects, and professionals from high-tech, media, and other industries.

Business and public sector organizations take part in social action, grant their employees the opportunity to contribute in their own added value, strengthen their ties with the community and conduct activity for their own employees.

The encounters, that cross the sectors and strata of society, lead to mutual cognizance and tolerance and consequently - to greater social cohesion.

The Business Model

A significant portion of the budget is contributed by the volunteering organizations from the private sector, who, in accordance with Shiur Acher's business model, in addition to the volunteering hours of their employees, also contribute financially.

Shiur Acher also enjoys the support of several foundations and corporations, including the Levi Lassen Foundation, the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, Tmura, IDB, Bank Yahav, Bank Hapoalim, Pitango, the Jerusalem Foundation and other reputable foundations that have requested to remain anonymous.

Scope of Activities - Proven Success

Shiur Acher was established in 2002, and during the current school year operates 250 courses, taught by over 2,000 volunteers from over 100 business and public organizations serving 6,000 children in 120 schools from Kiryat Shmona to Eilat.

Facts and Figures:

The Enrichment Courses

The core courses include: "Rules of the Game" (law & civics); "Doing Business" (economics & consumerism); "Behind the Wires" (technology & society); "Industry - A World of Occupations and Expertise"; "Healthcare & Medicine"; "The Media"; "Movie Making & Creative Writing" and "Architecture and Design". Some of these courses have also been translated to Arabic.

Additional programs include: "Gvanim on Current Events" (lesson plans addressing current events while applying, in context, Jewish texts and sources, that are distributed by e-mail to educators); "Shiur Acher for the Business Community" (study groups at the volunteers' workplaces) (supported by the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco); and "Shiur Acher by Parents

Volunteering Organizations

Hi-Tech Companies: Alvarion; Allot communication; Amdocs, Ceragon Networks; Gilat Satellites; DSP Group; ECI Telecom; EZchip Technologies; Microsoft; Ness; Nokia Simens Networks.

Accounting Firms, Banks and Financial Institutions: Altshuler Shaham; Bank Hapoalim; Bank Leumi; Citibank; Deloitte; Ernst & Young; Migdal; Peilim Portfolio Management; Pioneer Global Funds; Psagot;, Yahav Bank (nationwide).

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Law Firms Yigal Arnon; Shibolet; Goldfarb, Levy, Eran, Meiri, Tzafrir; Balter-Guth-Aloni; Gornitzky; Seligman; Fischer- Behar- Chen-Well- Orion; Erdinast- Ben Nathan; Weksler-Bregman; Michlin; S. Horowitz; Yahav; Hamburger-Evron; Salomon- Lipschitz; Reinhold-Cohen Group; CBLS; Raved-Magriso-Benkel; Lipa Meir; Glusman-Shem-Tov- Chowers,-Broid, Kaplansky; Tamar Tesler; Naschitz-Brandes; Baratz&Co.; Seligson Gavrieli &Co; Horovitz- Even- Uzan &Co.; Shavit Bar-On- Gal-on- Tzin-Yagur.

Courts: Central District Court, Haifa Magistrate Court, Tel Aviv & Jerusalem District Courts (Legal Assistants).

Government and Public Institutions: Antitrust Authority; Association of CPA's; Israel Air Force; Israel Bar Association; Knesset (Legal Dept.); Ministry of Defense; Ministry of Finance (Capital Market & Acct. General Depts.); Ministry of Justice:State & District Attorney Offices; Securities Authority, Tel Aviv Municipality; Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

Communications & Media: Channel 2, The Marker, Globes, Radio Haifa, Brukner, Neta, Yaar Advertising Agency.

Industry, Medicine, Architecture and other Organizations: Akerstein; Baran Group; El Al Airlines; Dead Sea Works; Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries; Kaplan Medical Center; Alrachma Medical Center; Rama Medical Center; Moore Yasky Sivan Architects; Rotary; Hom Halev; Debate; Mentor Graphics; effective Coach

Academia: The Sam Spiegel Film & Television School, The Ma'aleh School of Television, Film and the Arts, The Kibbutzim College.

Geographical Spread of Activity - From Kiryat Shmona to Eilat

Shiur Acher courses are run in elementary, middle and high schools, in Jewish (religious and non-religious), Arab, and Special Education streams, in the following locations: Kiryat Shmona; Nazereth Illit, Nahariya, Acco, Yokneam, Kiryat Ata, Kiryat Bialik, Kiryat Yam, Haifa, Tirat Carmel, Binyamina, Hadera, Netanya, Kalanswa, Tira, Rosh Ha'ayin, Petach Tikva, Tel Aviv-Yaffo, Pardes Katz, Holon, Bat Yam, Or Yehuda, Rishon LeZion, Bet Dagan, Lod, Gedera, Yavne, Bet Shemesh, Jerusalem, Sderot, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Beer Sheva, Eilat.

Youth Villages: Kiryat Yaarim, Ramat Hadassa, Nave Hadassa, Kfar Hayarok, Gan Vanof, Mikveh Yisrael, Haklaei Nahlat Yehuda.