Megan McLean volunteers at Yedid in Jerusalem and is currently traveling around Israel with her work
YEDID ("friend" in Hebrew) was established in 1997 to promote social and economic justice in Israel through a national network of Citizen Rights Centers in disadvantaged communities throughout Israel. Since its founding YEDID has helped over 220,000 individuals and families from across the spectrum of Israel's multicultural society: Jewish, Arab and Bedouin citizens; veteran Israelis from North Africa and the Middle East as well as Eastern Europe; immigrants from Ethiopia, and the FSU. YEDID's most important resource is its volunteer base, which is comprised of 1,000 people who carry out most of the day-to-day work of their centers. The majority of their volunteers are empowered former clients, working side by side with students and professionals in the fields of law, education, psychology and social work. YEDID's Three-Tiered Strategy includes: Individual Assistance - YEDID's 26 Citizen Rights Centers (located all over Israel) provide individuals and families with information about and access to services and legal rights, Community Empowerment Programs, and Litigation for Change. In addition to providing direct service to Israeli citizens from all backgrounds YEDID's Centers promote coexistence, providing rare opportunities for citizens from these diverse communities to work together to promote democracy and solve communal problems. Every day YEDID's Centers provide clients with the hope and practical assistance to fight discrimination and break the cycle of poverty.
This summer I am helping Yedid build and improve their English-language website. This site is very important to help Yedid with its fundraising in the English speaking world, mainly the US and the UK. I started by taking annual reports on various centers; editing and adapting the information to better suit the website. I also did additional internet research about the cities in which the centers were located to give more background information as to why different programs were needed in these areas. Now, Yedid is sending me around the country to visit the centers and meet with their directors and other staff, volunteers, clients and Social Work student interns. The interviews I am conducting and photos I am taking greatly enhance the information they have on the different centers' programs. My new colleagues at the satellite offices have even invited me back to participate in upcoming events in their centers and to document them for the website and their Facebook pages. I will also get to meet and speak with more of the clients to learn about why they came to Yedid and how they were helped by the volunteers there and to include their stories in the center's web pages. This gives me the opportunity to better understand what Yedid is doing in different regions of Israel, get to know more of the people involved in their work and update the information from the latest reports to further improve what is going on the website. This experience has been especially rewarding for me because I am getting to see parts of Israel I might not have otherwise, with people who know the areas well. The staff at Yedid is also providing me with valuable information in regards to pursuing a Social Work degree here in Israel.
