Fourteen Young Emissaries from Afula - Gilboa left Israel on August 24, 2004 to fly to the United States to serve for ten months in seven SNEC communities: Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, New London, Providence, Westport, and Worcester.

These Young Adults have completed their high school education and are taking a year before their army service to give of themselves through volunteering in our Partnership Jewish Communities.

This is a landmark year for our P2K Young Emissary (YE) program. Five years after it was initiated by visionary people in Afula-Gilboa and SNEC with two young emissaries serving in one community, it has grown to a group of 14 Young Emissaries serving in seven communities. The Afula-Gilboa preparation program, which the Young Emissaries participate in from February through June, has also grown and developed.

In addition to our local P2K preparation course the YE participate in a two-week seminar during July and August, which is very intense and focuses on Jewish Identity and Jewish Peoplehood. The seminar also gives special time for the Youths to practice preparing and presenting short programs of the type which will be used in their volunteer service within the Jewish Day Schools and supplementary Jewish Schools.

This year is special because the Jewish Agency, having seen the overwhelming success of our Young Emissary program, has adopted it and it has now become an official Jewish Agency program and part of a larger Young Emissary program which the Education Department of the Jewish Agency has developed. This year over 200 Young Emissaries will be serving in the US from Israel. Most of them are after their army service.

Our P2K region is still unique in terms of the numbers that we work with. Other programs have one or two emissaries. No one has 14 as we do. The impact of this program on both sides of our Partnership is enourmous. People-to-people connections made continue as Young Emissaries and their family members visit host families in SNEC communities even after their son or daughter has completed their year of service. And members of the SNEC Jewish Communities who have connected with the Young Emissaries in their communities come to Afula-Gilboa to meet their YE and their families when they visit Israel.

Our Afula-Gilboa/SNEC Partnership 2000 Program can take pride as having given birth to and nurtured one of the most successful P2K programs today. We can feel a special satisfaction in the unique structure of our program and the continuing talented and wonderful Young People who participate in this program.

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