Rotary, Best Buddies and Chili Fundraiser

Considering I am nearing the end of my time in Israel (just four weeks to go), I figure I should write about some of the other aspects of the Rotary scholarship. First, the scholarship has offered me the opportunity to develop a very close relationship to Yisrael Lazar and his family. Yisrael is my Host Counselor and has invited me to spend many holidays like Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Hannukah, Passover with his friends and family. Yisrael is also constantly making sure that I am well, enjoying my time, and that I have everything I need in order to make my year a great one. In addition to attending several meetings and speaking to Yisrael's Rotary Club, I have had the opportunity to meet with them at a variety of events over the course of the year so that I am on a first name basis with many of its members. Giving speeches to other Rotary Clubs throughout Israel has been a wonderful way to see much of the country, meet "regular" Israelis and to spread the word about Iowa, the United States and my own personal journey. Also, I have found that speaking about my impressions of Iowa and life there as well as my past experiences and future goals has allowed me the opportunity to look at my life from the outside in to better understand where I come from and who I am. They always say that if you really want to learn something try to teach it to others and this expresses perfectly what Rotary presentations have done for me. In trying to teach others about myself and my world perspective, I have gained insights and been forced to articulate things that I would otherwise not even thought about. In this way, these scholarships offer young people like myself a huge opportunity for growth and self-learning. In whatever way we attempt to give back to Rotary and the community, it cannot match what we have been given.

Annelise Cohon is another Rotary Scholar in Haifa from the United States. She is originally from New York but has lived for several years in Southern California. Last year, she worked for a non-profit organization called Best Buddies, which attempts to match developmentally disabled members of the community with students to form lasting friendships. Annelise brought the idea of Best Buddies with her to Israel and within the first few times that I met her, she had already told me all about it. I agreed to volunteer in whatever capacity she could use me. We began to visit a local center, Nitsan, for the developmentally disabled in Haifa. Nitsan offers a place and a community for people that would otherwise have no other place to feel "normal". We have visited Nitsan once a week ever since, attempting to become part of that community, helping to teach English, develop independent living skills through cooking and computer tutorials, as well as immersing ourselves in social activities including arts and crafts, daily discussion of current events and music therapy. Ultimately, we have attempted to interact with them as friends and not as instructors or volunteers. The experience has been enriching for all of us. And so Annelise, myself and several others have organized a big Chili Fundraiser for the end of this month with the hope of giving a monetary donation to Nitsan, which needs such donations to supplement their public stipend. We are hoping to feed more that 200 people at this Chili dinner, which has been generously sponsored by local Rotary Clubs here in Haifa as well as ones back home in the U.S., including my sponsor club Cedar Rapids Sunrise. With all of the positive support and encouragement we have received over the past few weeks, the event is sure to be a success. I have offered to cook all of the Chili for the event (with help of course). The idea originated out of a large Chili dinner I hosted for all of my friends in Dublin when my parents came to visit and a similar event that Cedar Rapids Sunrise holds for the Make-A-Wish foundation. Wish us luck.

at Nitsan

Hannukah

English Class

Avram and I

Volunteers with Buddies