Yasmin, AMEN Youth Volunteer, Israel

WATCH VIDEO: Meet Yasmin and learn about her role as an AMEN Youth Volunteer.

Yasmin is an eleventh grader and lives in the village of Ussifiya, in the north of Israel.

She volunteers as a counselor in a local youth club for the children in her Druze village, where, with her peers, she runs summer camps, as well as activities throughout the year, such as mothers' day activities, and other fun things. The youth club is called Young Leaders, and her volunteering is part of JDC's AMEN youth volunteer program.

Yasmin believes that volunteering is such an important part of community life. She has been doing it since she was in the seventh grade, and has never stopped. Not only is it something she enjoys, but it also helps guide the next generation to follow in her footsteps, to become active members in society and make the community a better place to live.

In high school, Yasmin majors in physics, although she's not yet sure how she will use that in her career. One thing she knows for sure is that she will continue to volunteer, together with her friends.

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

In four years, AMEN's results have exceeded even the most optimistic expectations. The average rate of youth volunteerism within eight pilot cities has increased tremendously: from 9 percent to 50 percent; and over 200 new youth volunteer projects have been created. More than 47,000 teenagers are now part of the initiative and have given over 3.9500 million hours of volunteer service to their communities.

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