Click here to learn more and fill out Camp Tawonga's Online Application!

 

Yahel partners with Camp Tawonga, a Jewish summer camp based in California, for a 4-week summer service learning program for high school students entering 11th and 12th grade. The program is open to teens from across North America.

 

Run in collaboration with our Israeli partners Friends by Nature and Horizons for the Future, the program provides teens with a unique opportunity to build relationships with Ethiopian Israeli and Druze teens and to participate in community-based service. By volunteering and traveling side-by-side, teens from both Tawonga and Israel engage in cross-cultural exchanges and experiences.

 

 

Program Highlights Include:

 

• Volunteering and engaging with an Ethiopian Israeli community in Gedera.

• Volunteering and engaging with a Druze community in the North.

• Cultural exchanges and a homestay with Israeli teens and their family.

• Learning about particular populations in Israel - their history and culture.

• Tours to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, the Dead Sea, Masada and the Negev.

• Hiking, swimming and other outdoor activities.

• Approximately 50 hours of community service.

 

 

 

“This trip helped me to experience Israel in a way that I will never be able to recreate. It caused me to think in ways that I have never thought before and made me feel like I really had an impact on the community. I know that not only have I left my mark on Israel, but it left its mark on me.”

- Program Participant

 

"Working with Yahel was an amazing and richly rewarding experience. The care with which Yahel cultivates their relationships and works with program partners is exemplary. From the well-organized itinerary to the wonderful educators and staff to the flexibility it was a top-notch experience. We feel proud to have them as a partner in this work."

- Aaron Mandel, Associate Director, Camp Tawonga

 

 

 

 

Safety and Security

The safety and security of participants of the Yahel Social Change Program is of great importance to us. Yahel is registered with the Society for the Protection of Nature control center (Moked Teva), who operate 24/7 and give us security directives. Additionally, we receive all security alerts posted by the Security Department of Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and its subsidiary company The Israel Experience in real time. The security situation is closely monitored throughout the program and Yahel reserves the right to cancel or change itineraries due to security concerns. Participants should follow safety instructions from Yahel staff at all times. Yahel is not responsible for the safety of the participants during their free time.