By Dona Stillman and Yiftah Leket
We are proud to conclude this year with our ShinShinim program, but before we do that, what is a ShinShin?
A ShinShin – is acronym for “Shnat Sheirut” (a year of service). ShinShin are those recent high school graduates, from Israel, who have chosen to postpone their military service in order to do meaningful community volunteering. Each year around 200 Shinshinim come to North America and volunteer in many communities.
In Detroit, we bring four ShinShinim each year. The program is led by the Israel and Overseas Department, and we (Dona and Yiftah) supervise it. This year, while dealing with the pandemic, we are proud to say that Detroit was one of the only a handful of communities that didn’t cancel the program; we took a leap of faith and welcomed two exceptional ShinShinim – Yuval Aviram and Noa Lumbroso.
In a very challenging year, these two determined young Israelis never gave up; spending the year here in Detroit, making a difference in our community. It is hard to express in words their impact, but the 300 letters they received from Hillel students are a great example of how much they mean to the community.
The ShinShinim’s role is to answer what educators claim to be one of the most impactful components of Israel education – personal relationships with Israelis.
While visiting Israel is considered one of the most important educational experiences, the ShinShinim program introduces local youth to Israel as a real life personal relationship. The ShinShinim make Israel more than a state, or a land, or even a home; they make it human. They become the face of Israel in our community, especially appealing to our young generation.
The ShinShinim work in day schools and religious schools, with youth movements, on community wide events and more.
Our community is fortunate to have an amazing partnership region, and the relationship that has been established between our communities has enabled us to recruit our Shinshinim mainly from our region, which gives another dimension of relationships created over the years, making it a life- long connection for many.
Our vision is to create a culture of ShinShinim in our community, so kids of all ages grow up with an Israeli “older sibling” on their side.
But the program is not only focused on young kids. Our ShinShinim engage people of all ages, creating community- wide programs, and especially meaningful relationships with their local host families. Our four young Israeli’s stay half a year with a local family before switching to a second family mid-year. This special aspect of the program creates an opportunity for eight families to welcome a new Israeli member to their family – enriching their relationship to Israel in a unique way that is a once in a lifetime experience. Our past host families express that to be one of the most impactful experiences their family has had in the Jewish community.
The importance of meaningful Israel education nowadays is more evident than ever. We are proud, to bring this program, as one of Federation flagship programs, and by doing so strengthening the connection between our community and Israel.
Want to bring Israel right into your home? Looking to give your kids an opportunity to connect to a new older sibling from Israel? Contact Stillman@jfmd.org, and we will be happy to give you more information about hosting ShinShinim.
