The Jewish National Fund-USA will host its first-ever Sunshine Volunteer Mission to Israel, offering active adults 55-plus the opportunity to help rebuild southern Israeli communities that faced widespread devastation on Oct. 7.
From Jan. 19-23, 2025, Sunshine volunteers will make a lasting impact on Israeli farmers, evacuees, returnees, Israel Defense Forces soldiers and more by providing hands-on support while creating secure, beautiful havens for displaced residents in the Israel envelope.
Jewish National Fund-USA has sent more than 3,700 people of all ages on Volunteer in Israel Missions to help renew and restore 20 of the impacted communities. However, this is the first volunteer mission tailored to Zionists in this demographic who are seeking to play an active role in improving Israel’s future.
“There’s something special about a group of people coming together for something greater than themselves,” said Jewish National Fund-USA chief planned giving officer Matt Bernstein. “The Sunshine Mission is an incredible opportunity for adults who care about Israel to do something unique and meaningful while connecting with others who share their cause.”
Volunteer mission itineraries are modified to coincide with timely events and the latest happenings in Israel. In each community visited, volunteers will provide support where it has been determined to be needed the most at the time of their visit. This may include anything from picking produce on farms, cooking hot meals for soldiers, fixing schools, painting houses, planting gardens and cleaning up homes and buildings, among other tasks.
Volunteers will also bear witness to the tragedy and destruction of Oct. 7, meeting with Israelis, soldiers, survivors and influential figures to hear first-hand experiences and visiting sites that have since become hallowed ground. However, these conversations and visits will also showcase the resilience and unity of everyday Israelis, who have banded together like never before.
“The visit was powerful,” said Karen Kolodny, who attended a recent Jewish National Fund-USA volunteer mission. “All the Israelis we met displayed courage and resilience, and it was inspiring. We heard the stories and the pain of the Israelis who were part of the Oct. 7 attacks; the widow who lost her husband as he was defending a neighborhood community, a soldier rehabbing from bullet wounds in Gaza even after his three days of fighting off terrorists in his neighborhood. We absorbed their experiences, cried with them, shared their pain and their determination to rebuild.”
The Sunshine Volunteer Mission for Active Adults 55+ includes accommodation, transportation, security and meals. Extension opportunities are available, including an optional pre-mission weekend in Jerusalem from Jan. 16 to 19, 2025.
For more information about Jewish National Fund-USA’s Sunshine Mission or to register, visit jnf.org/sunshinevolunteer.
