Four centers, about 1200 volunteers, volunteers and their spouses, and tremendous elation.
This is how we can summarize the evenings of appreciation for the volunteers we held over the past month throughout the country, from Tiberias in the north to Nitzan in the south, from Raanana in the west to Jerusalem in the east.
This year’s appreciation evenings brought back an organizational tradition that was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the anticipation of them, only increased the excitement of the face-to-face meeting, among volunteers and volunteers, veteran and new in managerial, accompaniment, consulting and guidance positions from all units of the organization, until we found it difficult to stop the reception and move on to the content of the meetings.
With his congratulations, Zvika Goldberg, the organization’s CEO, emphasized the social-economic challenge facing Israeli households, followed by a sharp increase of 40% in requests to the organization by middle-class families who are coping more severely with the cost of living and rising interest rates than in the past, and the recognition of the vitality of the organization and its activities and the importance of responding to the economic component in every social process, by associations and the public-government sector alike. As an organization, we must be prepared for the changing world in the world of volunteering as well as in the economic reality.
He concluded with these words:
“We will successfully meet all challenges, thanks to you and you, the volunteers. Thanks to knowledge, experience, ability, but no less than that, the special spirit and human depth – yours and yours. For that, we would like to say thank you. We will succeed if we know how to deeply respect the knowledge and expertise created over many years of volunteering, but we will also have the courage to change and develop.
We deeply understand that assets of quality – such as knowledge and professionalism – exist in many organizations, and what makes our assets special value and depth – is you and you. Our special value, which influences everything we do, is the fact that we are an organization whose DNA, its basic and deep identity, is based on the spirit of volunteerism and the value of volunteering.
A warm and special thank you to the spouses of the volunteers. Studies on volunteering show that volunteering also provides a sense of value and security to the families of the volunteers, but it is clear that in daily life, volunteering robs the family of valuable quality time. On behalf of Paamonim and the families who use the Paamonim, a big and special thank you to the girls and spouses who enable and encourage the continuation of volunteering.”
Dorit Yemini, Director of Accompaniment and Services for Families reinforced, adding:
“I would like to thank you, dear volunteers, for the spirit of volunteerism that beats in you: for your endless dedication, determination, coping with complex situations and not giving up even when you do not always experience success, for your optimistic spirit, partnership and trust in the path of Paamonim.
And to my spouses, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the push and the backing and the understanding that your support on the home front is what enables your spouse to fulfill the mission they have taken upon themselves, and this is a family mission in every respect. We appreciate and appreciate your contribution very much.”
Dorit also thanked the representatives of the families who used the organization’s services and came to share their stories.
In the keynote lecture, the participants enjoyed the inspiring life story of Michael Ben Shitrit.
Michael, an at-risk teenager in his youth, dropped out of school and began working at the age of 16 in a garage, and later as a barber.
Upon his enlistment, he was sent to the “Hava Alon” base and assigned to serve as a truck driver – a profession in which he worked until the age of 25. Thanks in large part to his military service, and not only, Michael completed his studies and undergraduate studies and became a lecturer at the institution where he studied, and later became the principal of a high school in Modi’in to the head of the education department of Kiryat Malachi.
In addition, Michael completed the Ironman competition and Maoz’s fellowship track and proved to all of us that everything is possible thanks to faith in man.
