Assaf, AMEN Youth Volunteer, Israel

WATCH VIDEO: Meet Assaf and learn about his role as an AMEN youth volunteer.

Seventeen-year-old Assaf lives in the city of Ashkelon, located in Israel’s western Negev. As an 11th grader at Ashkelon’s Yeshiva High School, Assaf concentrates on math, English, literature, and bible studies. When he isn’t hitting the books and focusing on his studies, Assaf is extremely active both in the local community and in his high school, where he holds a number of demanding leadership positions. In fact, Assaf’s extraordinary level of volunteer work and community involvement earned him honors from Ashkelon’s city Mayor; Assaf was awarded a prize in May 2008 recognizing his participation and contribution to the community as a youth volunteer.

In addition to serving as head of his high school’s student council, Assaf heads the Ashkelon city youth council, one of the leading youth volunteer organizations in the city. As the head of the council, Assaf is responsible for initiating youth programs and community activities.

In November 2007, Assaf was specially selected to participate in the "My colleague Diller" program, a joint volunteer initiative between the city of Ashkelon and the Baltimore Jewish community. Within the framework of the program, Assaf traveled to Baltimore for a week in April 2008 to take part in a special volunteer mission. Over the course of that week, Assaf helped the local Jewish community in a number of capacities. From leading activities with elderly in a Jewish Retirement Home and helping clean their facility for the Passover holiday, to presenting the importance of volunteer work to local youth at a Jewish school and meeting with community leaders to share his experiences in Ashkelon—Assaf is not only volunteering his time and energy, but helping to encourage and mobilize his peers, both locally and abroad, to do the same.

JDC's AMEN Volunteer Program
In 2003, JDC launched AMEN to mobilize young people to promote and participate in volunteer activities to meet their communities' needs. AMEN strives to achieve this by:

• Increasing the number of youth volunteers through innovative volunteering frameworks
• Improving cooperation and professionalism amongst youth volunteer organizations
• Creating a cadre of young volunteers who can become future community leaders
• Providing organizations with professional training programs for volunteers

AMEN is a partnership between JDC, the Ministry of Education, the Israel Association of Community Centers, and Amutat Alon. In addition, AMEN has strategic partnerships with various businesses, universities and colleges, federations, and donors.