Youth Clubs

Childhood innocence encounters hardship and poverty…

Sometimes, we forget that teens and adolescents need our supportive shoulder too. Nobody forgets to help the young child who has nothing hot and fresh to eat, or the elderly and lonely man in need of money. But what about the teenagers of the struggling families in the community?

Our youth clubs are geared to provide a direct response to the specific needs of teenagers. These are young boys and girls facing a difficult reality of privation, poverty, disease, and other distressing circumstances nobody should ever endure. Not always is there someone waiting for them back at home; someone who can offer them the support and warmth that they crave.

Meir Panim’s youth clubs operate in Sderot and Or Akiva, independent of the children’s afternoon clubs. In the youth clubs, the teenagers join together to enjoy educational, social and cultural activities. Our goal is to provide them with a chance to succeed in life just like every other teenager in the world. We do this by reinforcing their learning, reducing crime and loitering, strengthening their self-image, creating a sense of belonging, and encouraging volunteer activity on behalf of others in need.

So, how do we do it?

We renovated the buildings, put together fabulous programs, and – with the full cooperation of the Or Akiva and Sderot municipalities – we took off, full-speed!

State of the art computer rooms, cooking and art craft workshops, courses and lectures, classes on violence and addiction prevention, trips and activities, and military service preparation are but a part of the rich program offered at the youth clubs.

The clubs are run by experienced educators, assisted by dedicated counselors and volunteers.