After a process of study and assessment, the Partnership’s steering committee has decided to enter a new area and has decided to empower the youth of Beit Shemesh and the Adulam region in a field, that, due to obvious budgetary difficulties, has suffered from neglect for many years. The Culture and Volunteering Project is designed to bridge the qualitative and quantitative gap between the experiences of school aged pupils in central Israel and those of pupils from the periphery. There is a gap of 500-600% between pupils from central Israel and those from the periphery with regard to the extent the pupils are exposed to the stage arts (theater, dance, concerts, etc).

The working assumption, based on many studies, is that the pupil who experiences a theater production in school or other framework, is a child with a richer world of concepts. These experiences become frames of reference that become part of his life and his world of associations, which will be used when he plans his future and sets his aspirations. This transpires at an earlier age than is generally believed. These concepts will be used as personal signposts that shape his path. He won ’t be exposed to them for the first time only after his army service. He won ’t be intimidated and curl back up into his shell. This exposure, at a young age, transforms him into a person with an ever-expanding horizon of aspirations in many fields.

In Beit Shemesh - Adulam, like in many other regions that are geographically distant from central Israel, the budgetary reality is complex. Despite efforts invested in the area, the high school pupil only attends a play/cultural event outside the school once or twice a year. This is one of the areas in which the gaps between central cities and other cities are most blatant.

The "Culture and Volunteering" Project, which was formulized in conjunction with school principals and faculty, operates on two levels: the first, is creating a cultural program for the 2,000 pupils in the region. This program will include two plays (one in Jerusalem and the other in Tel Aviv), a concert, a day at a museum (in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem), and a day at the Cinemateque devoted to theater arts. The second, which is no less important, pertains to the creation of a volunteer program that will obligate schools (with classes participating in the project) to organize a significant volunteer-community project for the benefit of the region. Like the cultural component, the volunteer project will be conducted with the cooperation and under the supervision of Partnership 2000.

We believe that through this project we will succeed in making a significant contribution that will shape the personalities and futures of about 2,000 pupils of the region, namely the entire cohort that includes Grades 9, 10, and 11.

Tamuz 5764 - July 2004