• Find us on Facebook
  • See us on Instagram
  • Send us an email
  • Subscribe to our newsletter

Ariel’s Student Village

What is a “Student Village”?Capture

Student volunteers form the heart and soul of the village – a small group of people who live in the same neighborhood and use their talents and skills to better their surrounding community. Their presence and programming takes one small group of people and makes a large impact on the city as a whole.

Ariel’s Student Village

Ariel’s Student Village volunteers bridge the potential gap between the Ariel University and Ariel’s non-student residents by providing much-needed services on the opposite side of the city. Students become involved with Ariel’s diverse population, providing help where needed to children, the elderly, and immigrants – and also sparring further growth and urban development.

How Does it Work?

Thirty handpicked Ariel University students live in Ariel’s pioneering neighborhood. The students hail from a variety of backgrounds; nearly 50% are native Israelis who originate from outside of central Israel and nearly 25% are new immigrant students from the former Soviet Union (FSU), Ethiopia, the USA, and South Africa. For them, the Student Village provides a second family.

As part of their personal commitment to the Ariel Student Village, each participating student leads a volunteer project together with and for the residents. In exchange, students receive scholarships to augment their cost of living.

Students receive support from the Yachad B’Ariel nonprofit organization, which operates the village in partnership with American Friends of Ariel. Yachad plans Shabbat dinners and group trips for the village and provides each with places to stay over holidays and an adoptive family.

Which projects do the students lead?

Students lead projects in a variety of sectors, including:סטודנטים וחיילים

  • Providing individual tutoring and group enrichment programs for local schoolchildren;
  • Working with at-risk youth;
  • Preparing young adults for their mandatory IDF service;
  • Planning social events for families;
  • Distributing food packages to the needy;
  • Operating the Adele Biton secondhand store, in memory of terror victim Adele Biton;
  • Providing courses on computer literacy and independent living skills ציפורי לילהto the elderly – as well as a sense of community;
  • Tutoring converts to Judaism and helping them acclimate to Jewish
    life and culture;
  • Running a clubhouse and providing educational opportunities for developmentally disabled adults;
  • Visits to Holocaust survivors; and
  • Helping new immigrants, especially those without family.

A Double Impact

Your support of the Ariel Student Village is, by definition, a double investment. Your donation will impact the lives of those who give and those who receive – students and residents alike. Whether you choose to adopt a student by contributing towards their scholarship, or you choose to sponsor any of the student projects and programs, your generosity will help both communities. It’s one cause with multiple levels of impact.