This blog post was written by Grant Lewandowski, a Yahel Social Change Fellow living and working in Rishon LeZion
I currently live and volunteer in the Ramat Eliyahu neighborhood of Rishon Letzion, Israel. Rishon is the 4th largest city in Israel and sits just south of Tel Aviv. On the map it basically looks like a suburb of Tel Aviv. My neighborhood is really lovely! It is mostly a lower economic demographic including many immigrants from India, Russia, China, and Ethiopia. 30% of my neighborhood's population is Ethiopian so I witness a lot of their culture on a day to day basis.
Each day I volunteer I have two placements.
Sunday - Itamar School (English Teaching) / Moadonit Itamar (After School Program)
Monday - Moadon Nesher (Elderly Day Center) / Art Workshop
Tuesday - Itamar School (English Teaching) / Art Workshop
Wednesday - Itamar School (English Teaching) / Moadonit Itamar (After School Program)
Itamar School - Teaching English to 4th-6th graders at a school in my neighborhood. I take 5-7 students from the class and we use the “English Room” to work on things in their textbook
Moadonit Itamar - This is an after school program for kids who are placed there by the welfare office, their parents are working, or it’s just better for them to be there in the evening. I spend time with the kids playing games, soccer, learning tik tok dances (haha), drawing, and practicing my Hebrew with them.
Moadon Nesher - At the community center they have a morning center where about 5-8 elderly people with disabilities come and spend time and do activities. I join them and participate in all of their activities. This could include fitness, music, snack break, and singing.
Art Workshop - This is a non-profit that does art with people in the neighborhood. They also have artists in residency who help run programs or workshops. The building has been there since the 90s when artists from Tel Aviv brought their art program to Rishon. My friend, who is also volunteering here, and I will be putting on a workshop that focuses on art/photography and writing. She is a writer and I’m a photographer so we plan to do workshops with kids in the neighborhood with these mediums. Having the kids explore concepts like family through writing and photography.
There’s a quick look into all of my placements! I have about 30 hours of volunteering each week.

Volunteering at the Itamar school has been really special! Three mornings out of my week I walk ten minutes over to the school by 8am and start teaching English until 1:30pm. Throughout that time I help the head English teacher with each class of students. She chooses around 5 students from each period to join me in the English Room at the school. The kids are so fun! The first two weeks I dedicated myself to getting to know the students and for them to get to know me. We played games and practiced asking questions to each other in English. One aspect of teaching that I’ve really enjoyed is the creative side of things. The head teacher typically gives me some direction or papers they are working on, but it is completely up to me on how we spend the time together. I have loved combining an element of fun with getting down to business and learning some English! This process has been challenging, but each class feels like a way to learn and grow as a teacher and to teach even better the next day. I’m excited to continue volunteering here and spending time with all the students!
The irony of me being an English teacher is that English was often my worst subject in school. Whether it was apathy for school or simply something I struggled at, I consistently received bad grades. I know I am only teaching 4-6th graders, but it is cool to see how God can use parts of me that I never thought I would use. Parts of me that seemed dead.

My relationship with school in general has always been a rocky one. In many ways this experience teaching kids English all the way in the Middle East feels redeeming. Primarily in a way that I already mentioned. God using my weaknesses for good. A second chance to step into a school setting and not carry the burden of apathy, but rather the spirit of care and purpose. It doesn’t feel as challenging when you can tell how all of the kids look up to us volunteers. Every time I walk through the school kids run up wanting to speak or to just give me a high five. This reminds me of teachers that meant a lot to me and took the time to get to know me or my friends. How a simple act of noticing and taking the time to talk can mean a lot. This sense of responsibility feels like an honor to carry. I want to be a good influence and a friend to these students. I often run into students in my neighborhood which is always a fun occurrence and an opportunity to pause and notice them. A way of saying “Hey I remember you from class! What’s up??” I also assume this makes me seem more “real” to them. Seeing Mr. Grant out and about or buying fruit at the fruit stand. He eats apples too?? For me it makes me realize how much I love volunteering and teaching in the same neighborhood that I live in.
There’s a lot to love about this specific volunteer placement at Itamar school, but all of my volunteer locations have been special in their own way! I’m excited to continue teaching kids English, diving into the multitude of cultures around me, and pausing to notice the people around me.
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