Celebrating our Diversity

Israel Elwyn

4 days ago

Creating Together and Starting a New Year 🧿🤩

This week, we welcomed volunteers from Atid College to our Beresin Adult Day Center in Haifa for a special activity together with our service recipients.

During the activity, participants talked, laughed, created, and painted wooden hamsas and mandalas together, while wishing one another a happy new year filled with good news.

The gathering was an opportunity to get to know one another, create together, and build connections between people, exactly what an inclusive community should look like.

Thank you to the volunteers from Atid College for their time, dedication, and partnership. ... See MoreSee Less

Israel Elwyn

5 days ago

💙 A partnership built over the years becomes a shared home

Around 30 participants from a gap-year leadership program, who have chosen to dedicate a year to meaningful community involvement, are moving into Israel Elwyn’s Supported Living campus.

After years of volunteering, shared activities, and meaningful connections with our residents, this partnership is taking another step forward.

Because for us, this is much more than being neighbors. It is about creating a community where people with and without disabilities live side by side, get to know one another, contribute, learn from one another, and above all, belong.

Welcome home.

We’re so happy to have you here. 💙 ... See MoreSee Less

Israel Elwyn

2 weeks ago

A Purim party in August? Yes, we know it sounds a little suspicious too 🎭🤨

But there’s a very good reason.

Last Purim, everything was ready.

The costumes were waiting, the decorations were in place, and the excitement was at its peak.

Then “Lion’s Roar” broke out, and the Purim parties we had planned had to be cancelled.

We were left with a sense of disappointment, and with costumes and decorations that went back into storage.

But we were also left with one promise:

When the war is over, we’ll celebrate.

And not just any celebration.

We’ll throw a party a thousand times bigger than Purim.

So yes, it took us until August.

But last week, we finally kept our promise.

Residents from Israel Elwyn’s Supported Living Program in Jerusalem and Herzliya came together for a very special ball, dressed as kings and queens, dukes and princesses.

Our amazing National Service volunteers transformed the hall into a real palace, and from there the celebration only grew, with face painting, crepes, photo magnets, a royal fashion show, and lots of music and dancing.

After waiting for so long, it was especially moving to see the hall filled with smiles and joy.

We promised a big celebration.

And we delivered in a big way.

Now all you have to do is see the photos. 💙 ... See MoreSee Less

Israel Elwyn is in Haifa.

2 weeks ago

We were delighted to once again welcome Jane Strauss, a member of the Board of Directors of Israel Elwyn, this time together with her son, Rafi, for a visit to our programs in the Haifa area.

Jane, who is visiting Israel from the United States, is also a well-known community advocate in the field of self-advocacy, working to advance the rights, inclusion, and voices of people with disabilities.

We began the morning by visiting our service recipients who work at the Rami Levy branch in Haifa’s Check Post area. From there, we continued to meet additional service recipients working at Shemo Bakery in Kiryat Haim, and concluded the visit at Israel Elwyn’s Beresin Center in Haifa.

It is always especially meaningful for us to welcome our Board members to our programs, giving them an opportunity to meet our service recipients and staff and experience firsthand our daily work and its impact.

Thank you, Jane, for your ongoing commitment, partnership, and support of our work to build a more inclusive and equitable society, and to Rafi for joining us for this special day. 💙 ... See MoreSee Less

Israel Elwyn

3 weeks ago

Independence also means feeling part of the community 💙

How do we learn to live independently in the community? By getting to know it, connecting with it, and learning how to access the services it offers.

As part of the monthly community gathering of our Independent Living in the Community Support Program in Shfaram, participants learned about services and opportunities for becoming more involved in their community, as part of their journey toward independent living based on personal choice.

We also hosted the Israel Police for an engaging and educational session. Participants learned about the role of the police, asked questions, and gained important knowledge about safety and fire prevention.

Israel Elwyn's Independent Living in the Community Support Program supports people with disabilities on their journey toward independent living by developing life-management skills, helping them exercise their rights, strengthening connections to the community, and supporting them in pursuing their personal choices and aspirations.

The program operates in partnership with the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs and local authorities.

Because independence doesn't mean doing everything alone. It means having the tools and support that enable each person to choose what they want their life to look like.

Thank you to our participants, the program director, our support team, and the Israel Police for another meaningful step on the journey toward independent living in the community. ... See MoreSee Less