Southeast Region Amit members and friends gathered together on November 15 at the home of Adrianne and Leon Brum. Adrianne, famous for her hostessing skills, provided guests with an array of hot and cold beverages, delicious dips and chips, pastries, confections, and fruits. The main course, however, were two amazing graduates of Amit schools in Israel who had come to share their remarkable stories – Halel Bareli and Miri Uriel.
Debbie Moed, Amit national president, and Robin Isaacson, national director of planning and giving and regional director of Southeast Region, spoke of the Amit educational network that operates 110 schools, youth villages and programs, serving more than 33,000 children in 29 cities throughout Israel and introduced Halel and Miri.
Halel, a 12th grade student at Ulpanat Amit in Sderot, is one of 11 children. Her father is a rabbi. Her mother is a social worker. Halel was delighted for two reasons with the Amit school. One was that she would not have to go out of town to attend a religious girls’ high school as had been the case for frum girls in Sderot before AMIT. The second was that Halel was attracted to AMIT’s emphasis on giving back to the community and country.
Under this influence, Halel worked with and helped the youth and home-bound of Sderot during the Gaza War and was instrumental in aiding the families of fallen and wounded soldiers. Halel was asked to light the torch at the national Yom Ha’atzmaut ceremony at Har Herzl in recognition of her tremendous contributions. After high school, she will go on to do national service and continue her social activism.
Miri has been in the Amit system from a very early age. She and her brother, Moshe, spent seven years at Amit Frisch Beit Hailed and Amit Kfar Blatt. The children had come from a severely dysfunctional environment and the Amit facility gave them a loving home, stability, and encouraged them in every way. Today Miri is a drama teacher at Amit Kfar Blatt and works with special needs students. She has a strong ability to connect to the children and understand their challenges. Both Miri and her brother have successful and fulfilling lives.
To learn more about Amit, contact Robin Isaacson at 954-922-5100 or visit www.AMITChildren.org/Southeast.